Reclaim Public South Barrington Land- Legal Fund
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Update:
Next Monday, August 26th, the Village will hold yet another public hearing on the future plans for Area N. Multiple neighbors spoke in opposition to the plan at the August 9th hearing but the PBCC had a very significant turnout. No vote was taken because the Village Engineer did not complete a review of the plan. Please make the effort to show up in person at 7pm on August 26th to make your voice heard! We need to demonstrate strength in numbers just like we did last year. The village spent $70,000 of our tax dollars last year developing a “Comprehensive Plan” that lists Area N as residential. Let's hold them to it.
Separately, we continue to argue in court that the second auction was illegal and are pushing to return the issue of selling the land to voters - the next hearing will be September 5th. Please pitch in anything you can to help us continue to defend this public land.
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We're a group of South Barrington residents taking legal action against our Park District for the sale of public land.
We successfully halted the sale of land known as Area N in 2023 after discovering an effort to steer the sale towards a pre-identified buyer.
After a public scolding from the South Barrington Park District board members for forcing the original sale to be dissolved, a second auction in 2024 validated our original argument with a $575,000 higher sale price and multiple bidders.
However, this second sale is invalid:
- According to Illinois law, the Park District is not allowed to hold a second auction unless no bids were received at the original auction or all bids were rejected. The Board unanimously accepted the sole bid at the first auction and entered into a sales contract.
- The Park District confirmed in public comments and to the Daily Herald that the identity of the high bidder was unknown to them. Illinois law requires the Park District sell to the highest qualified bidder. It also permits the Park District to reject any or all bids. The Park District received a second place bid just $25,000 less than the winning bid.
- The Park District neglected due diligence, given their admission that they were unaware of the buyer's identity for 3 weeks. This would make it impossible to evaluate the winning buyer’s qualifications in addition to the absence of any discussion regarding which bid would most effectively serve the long-term interests of the Park District and the residents represented by the Board.
- The winning bidder was subsequently identified as an entity that is not open to the public, violating the Public Trust Doctrine which preserves natural land and waters for the enjoyment of the public.
Join us as we once again fight back against government overreach and preserve public land for our community!
Excess funds will go towards a community purpose and/or charity.
Organizer
South Barrington Residents
Organizer
Barrington, IL