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East Dundee again sues over Carpentersville Wal-Mart

East Dundee leaders have filed another lawsuit seeking to block Wal-Mart from obtaining $4.3 million from a special taxing district to build a new store in Carpentersville and close its existing location less than two miles away.

East Dundee filed a similar lawsuit years ago, but the new lawsuit argues the retailer has now applied for special tax district funding and Carpentersville trustees passed a resolution last November giving the green light to the money, making the danger that East Dundee will be harmed through a loss of tax revenue more acute.

"Those were the two things the judge said we needed to have before it was ripe for court," East Dundee Village President Lael Miller said.

The lawsuit also argues that the proposed Carpentersville location off Lake Marian Road and Route 25 is just 1.8 miles from the East Dundee store on Route 25, just south of Route 72.

"A municipality cannot pay any redevelopment costs to a retail entity if those costs provide direct financial support to a retail entity, which ultimately operates in another municipality situated within 10 miles of the redevelopment project area," the lawsuit argues.

The lawsuit also states that Walmart officials in May 2011 provided East Dundee officials with a plan to expand the East Dundee location into a supercenter, which is further proof the existing store location is no obsolete and still viable.

The lawsuit asks Judge David Akemann to vacate the November 2014 resolution passed by Carpentersville trustees and to issue a permanent injunction against the project.

Akemann twice denied a restraining order sought by East Dundee, but that was before Carpentersville trustees voted last fall to provide Walmart with $4.3 million in assistance from a special taxing district.

Steven Elrod, an attorney for Carpentersville, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The matter is due in court on July 23. The new Walmart should break ground this year and could be completed by December 2016.

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