West Cook News

The Lyons Township school district continues its journey of selling a piece of property.

The Lyons Township school board is looking to sell a piece of property owned by the district, much to the dismay of many residents and school district families, as well as residents of the Pleasant Hill neighborhood. The school district owns a 70-acre parcel of land in Willow Springs, on the corner of Willow Springs Road and German Church Road. The land is currently vacant, 70 acres of wooded space in the Pleasant Dale neighborhood that the district bought years ago to possibly use as a new high school campus but is now looking to sell for a minimum of $55 million that they say they will use to upgrade and improve their classrooms and address some equipment and facilities gaps in their athletic programs.

At the February 21st board meeting, the Lyons Township school district had dozens of residents again come to the meeting to discuss the Willow Springs property. All but a few begged the board to reconsider the details of the property sale, asking them to think carefully about what they might allow to be developed in that space in the future. Residents spoke about their own properties bordering the land for sale, not wishing to see their backyards turned into industrial spaces. They also preached against the pollution and traffic brought on by these developments, especially in a residential area with many young children and because the land directly borders the campus of Pleasantdale Elementary school. There is even a coalition of organizations against the proposed sale and a petition on Change.org with over 4000 signatures opposing the sale. Board members did not comment or respond to any of the citizens, who spoke for 70 minutes during the meeting, though they did hold a closed session during the same meeting that was marked as a discussion about land sales.

The letter from Sean McDermott on behalf of the Countryside City Council stated:

I'm writing to express my opposition to the proposed sale of the district 204 Property located in the village of Willow Springs and Willow Springs Road. Current traffic congestion on Willow Springs Road during commuting times is a serious problem for the countryside residents living in these adjacent neighborhoods,” McDermott said in his statement. "The proposed sale of the development of the 70-acre site would exasperate existing traffic congestion and cause additional noise and air pollution concerns to our residents. For these reasons, we ask that your administration work to preserve the land as open space."

"The city of Countryside stands ready to engage our Cook County and State of Illinois officials to seek comparable funding to preserve this unique parcel of land," John Von Drasek, Alderman of the City of Countryside, said. "We recognize and understand the desire to adequately address the district's long-term financial needs, and we are prepared to work cooperatively with your administration to achieve these goals."

The district received two bids for the property in early February after they put it up for sale, one below their minimum and the other at the $55 million mark, with the developers looking to turn it into an industrial park. Dozens of residents came out to the school board meeting where the district voted on the offer, asking the school district not to accept it as an industrial park in that area would go against the neighborhood culture and desires, with even Willow Springs Village administrators coming out to speak against it. While the board did vote against accepting that offer, they did not change the asking price or stipulations of the bid, meaning a similar development could be brought up again in the future.