Barrington Hills man wishes his neighbors would leave him alone

Philip Maksymonko knows he is not like most of his neighbors. And he really doesn't care.

Maksymonko has been the subject of two legal disputes over debris and dogs on his property in recent months involving his neighbors, the Village Of Barrington Hills and McHenry County.

Last month, he was fined more than $37,000 in Cook County court, and he is currently navigating his way through the appeals process. And he's scheduled to appear before a McHenry County judge next week to explain why he should not be held in contempt of court for, according to county prosecutors, ignoring a court order to clean up his land. He disputes the claim, saying he's performed "90 percent" of the cleanup ordered.

Maksymonko, an attorney, moved into his house at 3117 Spring Creek Road with his parents in the late 1950s. His parents, he said, moved there from Chicago to escape the problems they saw with living in the city.

"My parents wanted out of the city in the worst way because bad things happened in the city," he said.

Maksymonko said both his parents survived World War II in Europe, one in Germany and the other in Austria. He said that in their experience, people who live in cities die in wars, while those in the countryside can survive. Given the fright Americans had regarding the Cold War at that time, his parents chose to go to the country.

Maksymonko has lived on the land ever since. He has the same house, designed to be heated by a wood-burning stove. In his front yard, he had various cars, decorated with bumper stickers. It wasn't until a few years ago, though, he started having problems.

His girlfriend, Michelle Randall, moved into the house early last decade. With her, she brought her dog-raising business, Randall Ridge. For some of his neighbors, this was the first sign of trouble.

Jim Naumann moved into a neighboring house in 2000. For the first few years, Naumann said Maksymonko was "the best neighbor you could ever have."

Then came the dogs, upward of 80 at first. When Naumann asked Maksymonko what was happening, he was told that the number would soon be "down to 16."

"I moved out here for peace and quiet," he said. "Sixteen dogs is crazy. I think that's the last civil word we ever had."

It wasn't the last of the complaints leveled against Maksymonko. Soon, people were complaining about his large wood piles on the second parcel of land he owns in the area.

"That was out of hand," said neighbor Majiec Malinksi. "That was not only an eyesore, that was a hazard."

Maksymonko maintains he has been raising dogs and cutting his own wood for 40 years, something disputed strongly by Naumann.

Maksymonko is upset not only by his neighbors, but by the way the village of Barrington Hills has reacted, saying government has an "annoying tendency" to step in and tell people how to live.

He also rails against his high property taxes, noting that in three years, he more than repays the $40,000 his family bought the property for in the late '50s.

Maksymonko maintains he simply likes to be with nature. He said some neighbors got angry when he used wood chips to control weeds in his yard, rather than spraying pesticides, which he does not like.

"I thought that was the environmentally correct way," he said.

As a practicing lawyer, Maksymonko has been representing himself in all of his court disputes.

Though he is continuing his court fight, Maksymonko has made a number of concessions. All dogs have been removed from his property except for the one he keeps as a pet, and the woodpile has been greatly reduced in size.

For her part, Randall insists Maksymonko is a misunderstood man.

"Phil is mellow mannered, kind hearted," she said in an e-mail. "He plants flowers; he gets treats for his dogs."

Until recently, he worked as a paramedic at the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District. He'd worked or volunteered there since 1987, and Fire Chief Kevin Rynders said no one ever had personality clashes with him.

The same clearly can't be said for his neighbors. Malinski accuses Maksymonko of "manipulating the court system" and said he deserves the trouble he's found.

"I think in the end, you have to pay the price for being completely out of control," he said.

Maksymonko, though maintains that he does not want any trouble.

"I don't want to annoy anybody," he said. "I just also don't want to be annoyed."