Lyons Township High Disregarding Neighbors Again? Some Say Yes

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Lyons Township High School needs another month to compile information in the face of neighbors' objections to a discus and shot put area, along with bleachers, behind houses in Western Springs, the village said Friday.

Last month, Western Springs officials and residents alleged the school disregarded neighbors with its proposal. The school faced similar allegations during the controversy four years ago about its Willow Springs land.

On Thursday, the village's Plan Commission had planned to hold another hearing on the school's proposal. That has been delayed to Oct. 15.

"LTHS has communicated that they are diligently working to provide the information recently requested by the Plan Commission," the village's spokesperson, Selmin Cicek, said in an email to Patch.

Among other things, the commission asked for more analysis to demonstrate that there is no chance that a discus could fly into a resident's yard.

At last month's commission meeting, neighbors to the school's South Campus complained that the school had broken promises and failed to communicate with them like it used to.

In April, the school got in hot water with the village when it started building the discus and shot put area, including pouring concrete, without getting a permit.

After neighbors contacted the village, a local official warned the school that it needed a permit. When the school apparently continued with the project, Western Springs issued a stop-work order.

At last month's meeting, plan commissioners reflected residents' comments.

"I'm really surprised by the condition of that stretch of property, where there is kids (activity). There is abandoned equipment, debris," Commissioner Nick Esterman said.

Commissioner Peter Hanson said, "I think the most important part of having a successful proposal of any kind is to respect your neighbors. And I think that communication and discussing things well in advance is the key to that. That clearly did not happen here. I would argue there is probably a strong case that this was done intentionally."

Some residents say the South Campus situation resembles the one in 2022 in Willow Springs.

Back then, the school board purposely kept silent for the better part of a year to sell its Willow Springs land next to houses and Pleasantdale Elementary to an industrial buyer.

Officials correctly predicted that the neighborhood would protest once it became publicly known. Amid the expected uproar, the school dropped the plan.

Those running the "Neighbors of Pleasantdale" Facebook page have linked their situation to the one at South Campus.

"This is not an isolated incident," they said on the page. "Combined with what it previously attempted in Willow Springs, does LTHS care about any of its neighbors? Maybe the (School) Board should address and remedy the administrative culture that enables this repeated behavior."

In the latest case, the board has not discussed the shot put and discus plan in a public meeting.

The board may have been unaware of the stop-work order until residents brought it up at a meeting in April.

In May, Patch asked the board's president, Tim Albores, whether the administration had informed the board before residents spoke publicly about the order. He declined to specifically address that question.

The board's six other members did not respond to Patch's inquiry at the time. They are Jill Beda Daniels, Gioia Giannotti Frye, Kari Dillon, Christine Kozelka Campbell, Shawn Kennedy and Elias Lopez.