Issue at Hand:

We have reason to believe that Area N Development LLC is planning to de-annex from South Barrington (SB). Per Wikipedia - De-annexation is the removal of an area from the boundaries of a municipality. It is the reverse of annexation.

We are calling on all residents of SB to join us in urging our local government officials not to proceed with this de-annexation. We believe it is essential for our government to keep their promises and that any changes should be made with full transparency and community involvement.

 

Reasons to be Concerned:

(For a brief history of Area N and some background info, please see the the last section below)

• The SB Village government & commissions, the SBPD, and the PBCC have all promised that this land would be available for public use; when the land is de-annexed, no one will be able to utilize it or the infrastructure on the land;
• The PBCC will not have to follow South Barrington zoning guidelines which means that despite their initial proposition of matching SB architecture rules, they can now build whatever they want to on the land;
• According to Illinois law, the SBPD's second auction for Area N, was invalid;
• The SBPD proceeded with the sale of the land, knowing that the buyer will not permit public use of the land and will not be paying taxes (the SBPD had promised tax revenue would be generated from the land in their Friday 5 series);
• Members of the Village and SBPD have continually ridiculed, gas-lit,  and accused residents in both public forums and in the media regarding this matter. 

The Village's Role:

Despite hearing public outcry for months, Village officials have voiced that they will opt to not interfere in the de-annexation process which, yet again, means that our voices as residents do not matter to our elected officials. 

Our options as residents to address this de-annexation issue are very limited. However, the Village’s options are not. They are currently in a lengthy battle with AllState to prevent de-annexation in a different part of SB.

Next year, the Mayor’s position along with 3 Village trustee positions are up for re-election. Let’s give them another chance to stand behind the residents that they represent.

Please sign this petition today to protect our rights as residents and preserve public access to valuable community resources in South Barrington.

Background:

In 2023, the sale of a 34 acre land on the NW corner of South Barrington, commonly known as 'Area N', was successfully halted after discovering an effort by the South Barrington Park District (SBPD) to steer the sale towards a pre-identified buyer. 

The SBPD held a second auction earlier this year, during which the highest bidder was Area N Development LLC. The SBPD then proceeded to close the sale with said LLC, despite confirming in public comments that the identity of the buyer was unknown to them. Illinois law requires the Park District sell to the highest qualified bidder. It also permits the SBPD to reject any or all bids.

The SBPD failed to comply with due diligence requirements.

Area N Development LLC was created by the PBCC, a week prior to the auction, in an attempt to purchase the land anonymously.