A Setback For Lyons Township High's Bid To Sell Land?

LA GRANGE, IL – It's been more than three years since Lyons Township High School pursued a secret effort to sell land to an industrial buyer.

Still, tensions apparently linger with at least one other public body.

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On April 21, the Pleasant Dale Park District sent a letter through its attorney stating that it would not sell its 7 acres next to the high school's Willow Springs land to the high school or a developer.

That may be a setback because high school officials had hoped for a more rectangular site to market to developers. They had envisioned some sort of swap to make that happen.

The park district's land juts out into the high school's 74 acres, which are southwest of 79th Street and Willow Springs Road.

Last month, the high school released its broker's marketing plan for selling the site. The map included the park district's land.

In the letter, the park district's lawyer, Joseph Cainkar, said the marketing plan "wrongly depicted" its 7 acres. He asked the high school to clearly exclude the district's land.

Asked whether the high school responded, the district's executive director, Matt Russian, said in an email Tuesday, "Never heard anything from the school. The link to the marketing plan now shows our parcel cropped out."

The high school's spokesperson, Mary Lin Muscolino, confirmed the plan was updated.

In 2022, the high school's then-secret appraisal of the land included the park district's acres.

The high school's land is next to Pleasantdale Elementary School and houses.

In 2022 and early 2023, the school board held repeated closed meetings about selling the school's land for industrial uses, which are banned under Willow Springs zoning.

In the sessions, high school officials predicted residents would object. They were right.

After the high school's intentions went public, residents spoke up against the plan at board meetings.

And some submitted a complaint over the closed meetings to the attorney general's office, which later found the sessions violated state law.

As a result, the school released the closed session recordings. Behind closed doors, the board strategized to keep their plan secret for as long as possible from the elementary school, the village and the park district.

In a February 2023 closed meeting, then-member Alison Kelly asked, "Why wouldn't we collaborate with the different groups and just have conversations, even if it's a one-sided yell-fest for half an hour?"

Superintendent Brian Waterman responded that the others viewed collaboration differently.

"Their version of collaboration is very clear that they want to either stop this completely so they can keep their wooded lot or they want us to take a drastically reduced price," the superintendent said.

Weeks later, the school backed down from its effort.

It is now trying again, keeping industrial development as a possibility in its marketing plan.

In an email Wednesday, Willow Springs resident Jim Distasio said the high school would see a smoother, productive process if it chose actual collaboration, rather than just checking a box.

"I find it unfortunate and ill-advised LT is once again utilizing a 'go it alone' strategy on the land, holding scant meetings with Willow Springs and Pleasant Dale Park District, along with zero meetings with local residents, as it embarks on another sale," he said.