One of the critics is a board incumbent. Two other candidates declined to take a stand.
Patch Staff
|Updated Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 6:29 am CT
Editor's note: An original version of this story stated candidate Shawn Kennedy, a former Indian Head Park Village Board member, was absent from a 2023 meeting in which the board voted to oppose Lyons Township High School's effort to sell land to an industrial bidder. That was wrong. Kennedy attended and voted in the majority.
LA GRANGE, IL – Three Lyons Township High School board candidates – one of them an incumbent – have criticized the way the board handled the Willow Springs land issue a couple of years ago.
Two others aren't saying one way or another.
Candidates in the April 1 election recently returned Patch's questionnaire about their views on school board issues, including the Willow Springs land.
In 2022, the board repeatedly met behind closed doors for its plan to sell the school's 70 wooded areas in Willow Springs. Members wanted to sell the land to an industrial developer, even though industrial uses are against zoning and would be next to houses and an elementary school.
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The board backed off in March 2023 after residents' opposition. And the attorney general later found the board broke the Open Meetings Act by holding the closed sessions.
Candidate Arlene Cabana of Burr Ridge headed the Pleasantdale School District 107 board at the time. She said she was concerned about the effects of industrial development on students at neighboring Pleasantdale Elementary. The district came out in opposition.
She said the attorney general was correct to find the board in violation.
"The community and other public bodies also should have been engaged in the process and been given an opportunity to provide feedback," Cabana said.
Gioia Giannotti Frye of La Grange Highlands, who was appointed to the board in November, joined in the criticism.
"The process lacked the transparency it deserved, and this situation has underscored an important lesson: we are all in this together," she said. "Decisions of this magnitude have far-reaching consequences, not just for the board but for the entire community."
Candidate Elias Lopez of Hodgkins said the board's actions split the community.
"(T)he board should have let other public bodies and residents know," said Lopez, president of the La Grange School District 105 board. "The school community is now divided and some of our community members have valid mistrust for the board and administration. If elected, I will do my best to bring all stakeholders together and most importantly be transparent with regard to anything pertaining to the sale of the Willow Springs property."
He said the attorney general was right.
"If you break the rules, you should be held accountable," Lopez said.
Chris Kozelka Campbell, a candidate from La Grange, wouldn't say one way or another. She said the land is a "dead asset" and that it is up to Willow Springs to decide on zoning.
Shawn Kennedy of Indian Head Park also veered away from commenting on the board's handling of the matter. He said he has spoken to people on all sides of the issue.
"I, personally, feel a fresh start is the best way to approach a potential sale by getting all stakeholders together to discuss what is the best outcome they hope for and see if all parties can come to an agreement," Kennedy said.
Asked whether the board should have kept a possible land sale under wraps for months, Kennedy said, "Not being privy to what was discussed by whom and when regarding all aspects of the sale, all I can say if elected I would absolutely push for 100% transparency for start to finish of a potential sale."
As it happens, Kennedy, an Indian Head Park Village Board member at the time, did officially weigh in on the subject.
In February 2023, the Indian Head Park board voted 5-1 for a resolution opposed to selling the Willow Springs land to an industrial developer. Kennedy was in the majority.
In their questionnaires, candidates were asked about the board's most pressing issue. Kennedy said it was transparency.
He said the board should follow the rules under the Open Meetings Act and be as transparent as possible.
But in the questionnaire, he declined to take sides on whether the attorney general was right.
"I will leave that up to the AG, it is not my place to tell them how to do their job," Kennedy said. "If they feel it was warranted, then they alone should decide."
At the attorney general's request, the board has made the closed-session recordings available to the public.
School officials want to sell the land to pay for improvements to the school's two campuses. Board members appear to have moved away from the idea of selling to an industrial developer.