State May Stall LTHS Controversial Land Effort

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School is fighting a state bill that would make it much tougher for the school to sell its Willow Springs land to an industrial developer.

In February, state Sen. John Curran, R-Downers Grove, introduced a bill that appears to target the high school's effort. Willow Springs residents and nearby public bodies oppose an industrial sale.

In a mass email last week, Brian Waterman, the high school's superintendent, said the bill is "directly targeted" at his school. Beyond that, he said, it would hurt school districts across the state.

"This provision will severely limit the marketability and value of land that a school district may own, and force a school district to sell at a below-market price," Waterman said. "It will fundamentally change how school districts sell land and achieve fair market value for their taxpayers and students."

On March 31, the state Senate unanimously passed the measure. It is now in the House.

Under the legislation, a school district would need three appraisals before any real estate sale. The appraisals must be for the current zoning for the property.

The local town, township or park district would then be given the right of first refusal at the median appraised value before the district can sell at full market value.

In March 2021, Bridge Industrial, an international company, offered $65 million for the school's 71 acres in Willow Springs. This was not made public.

Shortly after, the school secretly sought an appraisal for industrial uses, even though the village's zoning specifically barred such uses for the land.

Meanwhile, Waterman communicated with a Bridge Industrial representative for eight months before the school publicly revealed it was interested in selling.

The appraisal and communications became public through Patch's public records requests earlier this year.

The land in question is surrounded by houses, a park, a school, a country club and a UPS facility.

When it went out to bid in December, the high school set a minimum price of $55 million for the land. Bridge Industrial bid at that amount. (Its previous offer was incorrectly for a larger parcel.) San Francisco-based Prologis came in second at $46.5 million, later increasing its offer to $60.5 million.

In his email, Waterman questioned why the bill does not apply to other public bodies if lawmakers believe it is good public policy.

"This would require a school district to sell at a lower price than may be available in the market to the detriment of its taxpayers," Waterman said. "It would then allow another local government to flip the property at a later date for the higher price to the advantage of its taxpayers, which in many cases are a smaller subset than a school district’s taxpayers."

The state legislative website shows that many of the bill's supporters are from Willow Springs, while many opponents are school district officials from across the state.

In an email to Patch, Willow Springs Village Administrator Ryan Grace said the high school's opposition is rooted in its plan to sell the land for a use that violates zoning.

Grace disputed Waterman's allegation that towns could "flip" school properties under the legislation.

"This scare tactic is misleading and, in my opinion, continues to show their unwillingness to realize the problems their actions will cause our community," Grace said.

Grace said Waterman disregards the importance of communicating with other public bodies.

But he said the interested entities are finally meeting Friday morning. They are the high school, Pleasantdale School District 107, Pleasant Dale Park District and Willow Springs.

Since late January, the Lyons Township High School board has stayed silent about the Willow Springs land during its meetings.