LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School is leaving open the possibility of industrial development for its property in Willow Springs.
On Tuesday, the school released to the public its marketing plan for the 74 acres. It was the same one that its broker, Mohall Commercial and Urban Development, presented to the school board two weeks ago.
Willow Springs zoning rules prohibit industrial development in the area in question. Village officials and residents remain opposed to the possibility, although school officials tried to lure industrial developers three years ago.
Two weeks ago, Patch emailed top school officials, including Superintendent Brian Waterman and board President Tim Albores, about the industrial option. No one responded.
Shortly after his election in 2023, Tim Albores, now the board's president, minced no words on industrial development.
"I spent my campaign listening to the community and looking at all sides," Albores said in an email to Patch at the time. "There was passion in those conversations from both the pro-sale to industrial and the anti-sale to industrial. In the end, I did come out and say that I would not support a land sale to an industrial bidder. I stand by that now."
In doing so, Albores broke with his election allies, board members Kari Dillon and Jill Beda Daniels. Both were part of the board that secretly pursued industrial development in closed sessions that the attorney general later found to be illegal.
The new marketing plan includes a part labeled "Qualified Buyer Universe." It includes a circle for "National Industrial/Logistics Developers." In business jargon, "logistics" means a trucking hub.
The names of five industrial developers were included in the circle. They included San Francisco-based Prologis, which bid $46.5 million on the property in January 2023.
On Tuesday, Willow Springs resident Jim Distasio, who lives near the land, noted Albores' 2023 position.
"When he ran for school board in 2023, Tim Albores stated point-blank he would not support a land sale to an industrial bidder," Distasio said in an email to Patch. "So it's a stunning betrayal to see him authorize marketing that same property to industrial bidders while he’s board president."
During the board's meeting Monday, another neighbor, Fred Whiting, referred to Albores' previous statement on industrial development. Whiting said not one board member commented on Mohall's inclusion of industrial in the presentation.
"There is no doubt the Pleasantdale community will again come together with even more intensity to fight any industrial development," Whiting said during the board's public comments period.
Mohall's buyers universe also includes residential, healthcare, affordable housing and mixed-use development.
The school's land is next to an elementary school and houses.
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