Glen Ellyn Prepares for Possible Injunction Against COD

The Village of Glen Ellyn recently took the necessary steps to file an injunction against the over the occupancy certificates of four COD buildings.

But village attorney Stewart Diamond said he hopes it does not come to that. He described the filing as necessary.

“The village’s efforts at the moment, and the college’s, I believe, is trying to come up with an alternative method to see that these buildings are properly occupied,” Diamond said.

On Tuesday, architects and code experts from the village and the college met to discuss the ongoing construction at COD. According to a statement from interim village manager Terry Burghard, the meeting was between the two groups was productive.

Joseph Moore, COD’s associate vice president of external relations, said when the college met with the village in the “spirit of cooperation” Tuesday, there was no indication that an injunction would be filed.

“We do believe we’ve provided Glen Ellyn with all information necessary to satisfy any concerns that the college has constructed buildings of the highest safety standards,” Moore said Wednesday.

David Carlin, chairman of COD’s Board of Trustees, blasted the decision in a statement released by the college Thursday.

“The Village says in public that they are attempting to find a cooperative resolution, but does this sound like a cooperative approach?” Carlin said. “On the same day they met with the College, they filed in court to prevent our state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities from opening.”

Carlin added that “if these tactics are allowed to stand,” it could negatively affect COD students.

“We will do all we can to prevent Village officials from hurting our teaching and learning this fall,” Carlin said.

What Carlin will do is unknown at this point. The college is already suing Glen Ellyn in court, stating that the village has no jurisdiction over the college. COD is actively pursuing de-annexation from the village.

Thursday’s statement from the college included a challenge of sorts to the village by COD President Robert Breuder.  

“We challenge the Village to provide a legitimate, bona fide list of health, welfare and safety issues that they have identified that the college has refused to address. I do not believe they can meet this challenge, but I would very much like to see the public hold them to it. It would demonstrate with certainty that, for Village leadership, this process has been about control, not the welfare of the people we serve.”

Diamond said they would file an injunction if talks between the two sides break down.

“The only way that we would go to court if, in fact, those talks break down, and I hope they don’t,” Diamond said. “I hope they result in an alternative methodology which would be an alternative to the inspections.”

One of the points of contention in the relationship is construction at COD. Diamond said the goal of Tuesday’s meeting was to work out some sort of “certificate of compliance” so that college architects and site observers can say they have met village ordinances.

“I think the key to it is there are active discussions going between building code experts to try to replicate the standard system of inspections as closely as possible,” Diamond said, who noted that there was a similar system in place under the 2007 Intergovernmental Agreement between the two entities.

The reason for this alternative method is because the college did not apply for building permits, nor has it allowed the village to inspect the buildings, according to the village. The college has maintained that it has its own system of independent, third-party inspectors, and it disputes the village line on inspections and permits.

“The College has never prevented Village officials from entering its buildings. In fact, the Village inspectors, Fire Chief and Building Department head have repeatedly visited the construction sites,” the statement reads. “The College has maintained from the beginning that it is not legally required, per Illinois Community College Board Regulations, to apply for the permits cited by the Village.”