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Woods & WetlandsNews |
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Woods & WetlandsNews |
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With the prospect of a 50% increase in population between 1990 and 2020,
the Libertyville Township Board wants to set aside more precious open space
before it is covered over by development. Preserving open space is crucial
to support the outstanding wealth of wildlife species that make this region
their home. It also helps maintain the quality of life we enjoy, by providing
natural protection from floods, 
and
reducing air, water, and noise pollution. And its a win-win scenario. By
reducing the burden on schools, sewer, water, police, fire, and all the
other municipal services, open space ultimately limits taxes. Because these
new bonds will only replace old bonds, the property tax rates to pay for
them will remain unchanged at the 1986 level of 19¢ per $100.
Municipalities are annexing more land away from the county every year
for development, so they should also assume the responsibility to preserve
land as open space. The Libertyville referendum will support the preservation
of 1500 acres of open space in the Township, and other townships should
follow suit. None of the land purchases slated for April 6th Lake County
Bond Referendum will be within Libertyville Township, so both are important.
For our Families … For our Future, please vote YES.
In the Sierra Club tradition, we’ve planned a W&W outing to visit
sites saved by the last Libertyville referendum, and sites that we hope
to save. Its on February 13, from 2:00 to 5:00. For more details, call
the Hot-Line or the check the website.
A developer obtained options on a 100+ parcel of farmland bordering Hawthorn Woods and the community of North Barrington, at Rt. 12 and Old McHenry. In 1996 the development plans were placed on hold after the village boards voted down the annexation of the land for the development of an "upscale mall" proposed by the Taubman Company. Because of the lack of cooperation between the two boards, Taubman has now positioned the communities that once fought against the development, against each other. The focus was shifted from the question of whether to develop, to the question of which community would gain from the $3 million plus revenue. While the boards are fighting over who gets the money, the majority of the people in the communities are fighting against the development, regardless of who gets it.
This is happening all over the U.S. Large developers are somehow changing
the votes of elected urban officials to favor their projects, using their
powerful connections in industrial, governmental and educational institutions
as a way to reward those who back the developer. Only one year ago our
officials ran for office on the very issue of defeating the development
of the mall. Now after being reelected the board president of Hawthorn
Woods, John Clery, has somehow been convinced to not only embrace the development,
but also offer tax incentives, our tax dollars, back to the 
developer.
He claims it is to stop North Barrington from controlling the development.
This issue needs to be addressed on a broader level. We can no longer
let a few, with personal agendas and axes to grind, change a community
and the face of communities left behind forever. This is more than just
urban expansion. Reports predict that we will be left in years to come
with millions of square feet of empty retail space, developed at the expense
of our farmland, leaving behind depressed communities eating up more tax
dollars.
Urban Sprawl has been stopped in many communities whose elected officials
ban together and say NO. Forming "green lines" that restrict development
beyond certain points and working together to manage sprawl are a few ways
communities are fighting back. This takes cooperation between bordering
communities, something sorely lacking between Hawthorn Woods and North
Barrington.
Today, the answer from John Clery is that it is inevitable. Tell that to the people in Chester County Pennsylvania, who did not offer tax relief and held off the advances from the same development company driving a wedge now in Lake County. Taubman officials were quoted as saying that they needed tax relief to make the development worth it. Without it Taubman is no longer pursuing the Pennsylvania development. Pennsylvania did this with state, county and community governments working together. Unfortunately the state of Illinois, county of Lake Zurich and especially the villages of Hawthorn Woods and North Barrington are not and have no intention of banding together. The issue rests entirely on the shoulders of a few elected officials that are easily manipulated by the lure of wealthy developers like the Taubman Company.
John Clery, take note and put your personal gains and personal differences
with North Barrington aside; the community you call "yours" doesn't want
your mall.
In a letter to Mr. Clery, LaBelle opposes rezoning of the unincorporated land, and warns of the severe burden the mall would place on an already strained transportation system. He goes on to join those (like Jim Collins above) opposing sprawl wrought by large scale development into Lake County’s countryside. Finally, he extends the services of the County to help forge an intergovernmental agreement between the villages of Hawthorn Woods, North Barrington, Wauconda, and Lake Zurich.
We are pleased that Mr. LaBelle is demonstrating leadership to help
preserve the county’s quality of life in this way. He needs our help. Call
your Trustees, and tell them that sprawl is unacceptable, and the time
for a strong intergovernmental agreement is long overdue.
Members are invited to join the
W&W group's e-mail distribution lists. On the ALERTS list you will
receive infrequent timely posts from the Group Chair, primarily on local
issues. Some of these appear on this website, and if you subscribe you
will learn about them in time to help. The ISSUES list allows you to share
in a discussion with other W&Wers. To sign up, click LISTS,
and then, for each one you want to try out, type in the body of the message
:
SUBSCRIBE IL-WWG-ALERTS firstname lastname
SUBSCRIBE IL-WWG-ISSUES firstname lastname
and send the message. We do not share e-mail address lists, and you
can remove yourself from our alerts list at any time.
On the south edge of Vernon Hills, bordering the North Central RR tracks north of Port Clinton Rd., lies 41 acres of largely forgotten Park District land, known as Sullivan Woods. The Seavey ditch, that drains the wetlands where much of the town is built, enters the Woods through the golf course on the north, and joins Indian Creek before flowing out of the area. Without periodic fire, the flood plain of these two creeks has become overgrown with dense invasive species. A beautiful stand of old burr oaks grows on a rise on the south end, enhanced by annual Earthday restoration work to remove the buckthorn.
Presently the Hawthorn Club and Sugar Creek developments are separated from the new Vernon Hills Metra station, who’s only access is from busy Rt. 45, by the creeks, the Woods, and the RR tracks. The new trail, only a mile long, crosses the creeks on both ends, passes under the tracks in the middle, and connects the two communities to the train station. The route was carefully planned to protect the magnificent trees. Exploratory clearing in the flood plain removed enough invasive buckthorn that native wildflowers will likely sprout, with the help of a controlled burn.
This project qualified for 80% federal ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) funding. Too often in Lake County, ISTEA projects have served recreation more than transportation, even requiring cars for access. Because this project provides a "cut-through" for non-motorized access to mass transportation, while preserving native habitat, it should be considered a model for other communities to copy.
Sullivan Woods Picture Gallery :
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