LA GRANGE, IL – The Lyons Township High School board decided Monday to sell the school's 71 acres in Willow Springs.
Officials are hoping to avoid repeating their experience from nearly four years ago.
Without discussion, the board unanimously voted to sell the land.
This time, the board has set no minimum price.
In late 2022, the board set a minimum of $55 million. That was when officials were secretly trying to woo industrial developers, even though Willow Springs zoning bars industrial uses.
The land in question is next to an elementary school and houses. It is southwest of Willow Springs Road and 79th Street.
In 2022 and early 2023, the board met repeatedly behind closed doors, strategizing to keep the public out of the loop for as long as possible. Members predicted the industrial plan would enrage neighbors. They were right.
The process unraveled amid the uproar and an upcoming election. The attorney general later found the board violated the open meetings law, prompting the release of closed-meeting recordings. The board blamed its attorney for the lack of openness with residents.
Under the sale's terms, a sealed bid opening is slated for 6 p.m. Nov. 9 in the school board meeting room. It's likely to be well-attended this time, given the previous controversy.
In the terms, the school revealed to bidders that the village prohibits industrial uses on the land. It said that Willow Springs and neighbors have "historically been opposed to its industrial development."
Any developer interested in industrial uses is directed to contact Willow Springs to determine the likelihood of obtaining an exception.
In 2024, Atlanta-based Pulte Homes offered the school about $19 million for the land, proposing houses and townhomes on the property.
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