Battle over water in Hawthorn Woods will go longer
In what might seem to be a never-ending parade of lawsuits on the Glennshire water issue, Lake County has upped the ante on Hawthorn Woods.
Lake County is seeking a judge's permission to file a complaint against Hawthorn Woods to force a decision on building a new water system for 224 Glennshire homeowners.
And Lake County may try to back out of building the system entirely.
In its proposed complaint against Hawthorn Woods, the county is asking the court to void a 1975 contract under which the county took over ownership and operation of the Glennshire water system, and return the Glennshire water system to the village.
The agreement says the village is required to grant any easements, right-of-ways and permits to the county whenever upgrades need to be made to the system.
County officials say the village has not lived up to its end of the bargain -- and continues to delay construction of the new Glennshire water system, which has been ordered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency -- by refusing to issue special use permits and other documents necessary for work to begin.
"We've been working on this now for over two years," Lake County Administrator Barry Burton said. "It's ridiculous that it's taken this long and now we're going to try to get this resolved once and for all."
If the county files its complaint, the judge could force Hawthorn Woods to issue the permits or rule that the county doesn't need permits to install the system, Lake County's special assistant state's attorney Jim Bakk said.
The Hawthorn Woods village board has agreed to grant the necessary special use permits, variance, waiver, and easements Lake County seeks to build the system -- but only if the county figures out who's paying for it.
That issue is at the center of a separate lawsuit. The 672 Glennshire residents filed a federal class action lawsuit against Lake County in late May, saying it should pay the entire $6 million cost to replace their "failed" system. The county agreed to pay only $1 million.
Hawthorn Woods Mayor Keith Hunt says the county is trying to shift blame.
"We haven't been involved with that water system since 1975," Hunt said. "The statute of limitations on a written contract is 10 years. So their time for filing any claim, it seems to me, probably expired the first time they started violating the IEPA regulation and were cited in the 1980s."
Meanwhile, Glennshire residents, who learned in 2006 their 20 shallow wells would have to be replaced, are getting anxious.
"The village's refusal to work with the county to put the system in continues to harm the residents," said Christopher Donovan, president of Citizens for Equitable Water Solutions, a Glennshire homeowners' group formed to address the water issue.
Lawsuit score card
Lawsuits have been flying in every direction in the 2-year-long Glennshire water system saga.
Timeline of legal actions
Nov. 30, 2006: The Illinois attorney general's office sues Lake County on behalf of 224 Glennshire homeowners to build a new water system that is Illinois Environmental Protection Agency-compliant.
May 13, 2008: The state attorney general's office and Lake County try to get Hawthorn Woods added as a "necessary party" to the state lawsuit on the Glennshire water issue. Decision is due July 17.
May 29, 2008: The 672 Glennshire residents filed a federal class action lawsuit against Lake County saying it should pay the entire cost to replace their "failed" water system.
June 18, 2008: Lake County files a motion seeking permission to file a third-party complaint against Hawthorn Woods to force a decision on building the Glennshire water system. Decision is due July 17.