Horizon blasts Huntley for rejecting bond deal

Huntley's long-simmering dispute with Horizon Group Properties spilled out into the open Thursday night for the first time in months.

At Thursday's meeting of the Huntley village board, Horizon representatives expressed frustration with Huntley, saying the village has refused to consider what Horizon characterized as a win-win deal.

The developer has offered to pay off more than $16 million in bonds issued in 1995 for infrastructure in the village.

Paying off the bonds would free up property Horizon mortgaged as collateral for the riskier bonds.

It would also enable Horizon to get paid for the class of bonds the developer holds. The three sets of bonds are paid off in sequence, and the set that Horizon holds is the last.

In exchange for allowing Horizon to pay off the debt, the village would get $200,000 from Horizon.

Horizon representatives complained Thursday that Huntley has given their proposal the brush-off.

"We started talking back in April. They rejected us and didn't give us a reason why," Horizon Vice President Phillip Waters said.

But Huntley Village Attorney Mike Coppedge said the village's bond counsel has advised against the deal, saying the benefit to Horizon is unclear.

"Since April, the village has been asking for documentation to support the proposal," Coppedge said. "None of that empirical information was forthcoming."

Horizon played an important role in the village's growth in the past decade, helping develop the Huntley Auto Mall, Prime Outlets and Del Webb's Sun City.

The developer sued the village in 1999 and 2006, but dropped the bulk of its complaints in June. The suits, however, are still pending.