Lyons Township High Board Casts Secrecy Aside

LA GRANGE, IL – Contrary to its previous unwritten policy, the Lyons Township High School board is continuing to cast aside secrecy as it moves toward the possible sale of its wooded land in Willow Springs.

School officials are planning meetings with Pleasant Dale Park District and Pleasantdale School District 107 on the issue.

The session with park officials is set for Sept. 27, while the high school is coordinating scheduling with District 107, the high school board's president, Jill Grech, said this week.

Last month, the school met with Willow Springs village officials.

Two years ago, school officials kept the other governing bodies in the dark about the plan to sell to an industrial developer. They even strategized on their secrecy in closed-door meetings.

Willow Springs and neighboring towns rose up against the plan for industrial uses, which zoning barred. An elementary school and park are next to the land.

After more than a month of protests at meetings, the school board abandoned the plan in March 2023.

The attorney general's office later found the board violated the Open Meetings Act by discussing the land behind closed doors. The agency ordered the school board to release the recordings, which the board did.