Open Space Preservation

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I had my eye on the 38 acre land acquisition for many years. When we lost the legal battle with the developer and our attorney told us that we would lose an appeal, I went to work.

First, I got permission from the Council to spend up to $2 million on this propert and was told I could attempt to put a deal together with other governmental groups. I had the City Manager set up a meeting with Lake County, our Park District, Joyce O'Keefe, and State Rep. Karen May. I told them if we all worked together we could set an example of governmental cooperation and show we could accomplish more than alone and – and make this purchase a reality.

The net cost of the property was $4 million and we started out asking for the Forest Preserve to come up with the remaining $2 million. We also knew that the State of Illinois had $20 million to pass out in matching grants. After much negotiation, the Lake County Forest Preserve was willing to come up with the same amount as the City of Highland Park came up with, not to exceed $1 million. We also applied for a State grant of $2 million (knowing that if we put up $1 million the county would also put up a million). The rest is history as we purchase this land in 2002 and also put a conservation easement over most of the Highland Park Country Club retaining the open grounds and storm water storage for all future generations.

My real start in land preservation came in the 1980s with my participation with a group of west side residents that worked to save what was known as the "Polk Property". I was one of the founding members and continue to be a board member of a group that was initiated in 1988 and is called the Highland Park Conservation Society.

Back when we were getting off the ground, we tried to persuade the Lake County Forest Preserve District to purchase the "Polk Property" for $12 million. Our group worked with the open space folks up in the county to get an $80 million bond passed to purchase lands for preservation. We traveled around the county and secured over 3,000 signatures supporting the spending of these funds; $12 million was supposed to be used for the "Polk Property" purchase.

While we were successful in getting a majority vote for the bond, the money was spent up north of Libertyville instead of our purchase. All was not lost since we were able to get the owners of the "Polk Property", now known as Hibernia, to dedicate many acres of land to the Illinois Natures Preserve Commission and get the Highland Park Park District to also dedicate Highmoor Park as an Illinois Nature Preserve.

About the time that I was wrapping up our fight to save the "Polk Property", I joined efforts with our past Mayor Ray Geraci and we worked together on a group called Save Open Space, or "SOS". Being bombarded by development proposals from Bill Spatz at that time for a massive development on the Highland Park Country Club, we started petitioning the Council members to purchase the Club as open space for the citizens of Highland Park.

After refusal of the development plans by the City Council of Highland Park, we had our first big success as the City Purchased this land for $10 million and this private club became public in 1993. This purchase was integral in not only saving open space but for also storm water retention, limiting traffic increases on both Park Ave and Half Day Road, creating additional public recreational facilities, and to conserve the small amount of natural areas we have left in the community.

In the early 1990s, I worked with neighbors in Braeside on a blight to our community called the Septran Property. This was an old abandoned gas station that turned into a garage for Septran buses and vans. We held clean-up days around this property and Daggit Cemetery (east of Septran) and tried to draw attention to the need for repair and clean-up for this area.

After becoming a Council member I went to see Rob Moroney about the cemetery and asked him how we could work together to save and enhance this site. I also talked to Connie Newport at the Park District to see what role they could play in this preservation. At the City Council around the 1995, we were struggling on how to deal this the Septran issue and negotiated a deal with the owners for purchase.

At that time I also initiated contact with the Park District to convert this into a park for the community. The Township also played a large role with starting efforts to rehabilitate Daggit Cemetery and combining it with what is now known as Founders Park. The Cultural Arts commission also work with the Park District in commissioning the Sun Dial and helping design the park as it is today.

Many efforts we tagged as the "Last chance to buy open space" in Highland Park. I remember in the late 1980s, Bob Buhai told me that the Polk Property was not the last one, it was Fort Sheridan. Well, Bob was right in that the Polk property was not the last, but was wrong that Fort Sheridan was our last chance. We have had others since then and hopefully more in the future.

My association with the Advocates of Fort Sheridan and my role on the City Council was a significant one on this open space dedication but it was secondary in this case to folks like Peter Koukos, Joyce O'Keefe, and Mayor Pierce who served on the Council and led the fight at the local and federal political levels. I did, however, save the 10 acres on the east end of the parade ground that Ray Geraci wanted to give to Stein as part of the development plan. Several hundred acres of lakefront property were saved and preserved. We also got the folks to dedicate the ravines and commit to come up with plans for remediation and preservation.

The preservation and dedication of the Prairie Wolf Slough and associated partnerships and intergovernmental agreements was probably my greatest vision accomplished of my life. It all started when I was walking the Middle Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River with Damon Ohlerking talking about the possibilities of this land off Route 22. I remember meeting with David Ramsey of the Friends of the Chicago River and describing a vision of the recreated wetlands and the trail along the river that would go from Ridge Road across from Olsen Park through Painters Lake then across Deerfield High School and then along the river to the recreated wetland site.

I negotiated the deal with the School District 113, the Park District, The City, and the developer of Painters Lake (Shelley Burke) to share costs and responsibility of a trail from Painters Lake to the school. Carol Spielman, then our County Board Representative carried through the vision we had by working with the friends of the Chicago river and many other groups to make the vision into the reality of the Prairie Wolf Slough and the connecting trails that exist today.

The Highland Park Woods was kind of a preservation effort within an effort, since this was initially part of the Highland Park Country Club purchase. Subsequent to that purchase, Ray had wanted to use it to expand the Country Club and then wanted to place Historic home on this natural wooded site. I finally got the City Council to dedicate this 7-acre parcel on the East side of the club for open natural space forever.

Along with the development of the sale piece of the Country Club on Route 22 I was also able to get funding from a private developer and also through a state grant to create a trail from Park Avenue through the Highland Park Woods and onto Route 22. This preservation was further sealed with a preservation easement granted to the Lake County Forest Preserve District that came along with the 38 acre purchase.

Gateway Park is the newest addition to our city purchases of open space and is located on the northeast corner of County Line Road and Green Bay Road. The past owner attempted to market this parcel for single family development but the City was unwilling to grant any variances that would allow a feasible development plan. Considering its prominent location at the old historic entrance to our city, this purchase created a great cornerstone for the community as well as nice place to visit for the neighbors.