Hawthorn Woods drawn into state's lawsuit against Lake County
A judge this week allowed Lake County to file a complaint against Hawthorn Woods to force a decision on building a new water system for 224 Glennshire homeowners in that village.
The Illinois Attorney General's Office sued Lake County in 2006 to construct the new water system to replace Glennshire subdivision's 20 shallow wells, per an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency order.
Hawthorn Woods has now been named a third party defendant in the state's lawsuit against the county.
The county claims Hawthorn Woods has obstructed the system's installation by refusing to grant the necessary permits.
"The judge's decision ... it was a step forward to resolving the entire mess," said Christopher Donovan, president of Citizens for Equitable Water Solutions, a Glennshire homeowner's group formed to address the water issue.
In its complaint against Hawthorn Woods, the county claims the village is in breach of a 1975 contract under which the county took over ownership and operation of the Glennshire system from the village.
Per that agreement, the village is required to grant the necessary easements, right-of-ways and permits to the county whenever upgrades need to be made to the system.
The county is now asking the court to void the 1975 contract and return the Glennshire water system to the village if it doesn't grant the documents needed for work to begin.
Hawthorn Woods has until Aug. 6 to respond to the complaint.
Lake County's special assistant state's attorney Jim Bakk said Hawthorn Woods' attorney indicated the village would file a motion to dismiss.
"The ball is in Hawthorn Woods' court," Bakk said.
Hawthorn Woods Mayor Keith Hunt could not be reached for comment Friday.
Hunt has said his village board did agree 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.
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.
Bakk said in the end, the judge could force Hawthorn Woods to issue the permits or rule that the county doesn't need permits to install the system.
Separately, the attorney general's office and Lake County are expected to file a joint-motion Monday to add Hawthorn Woods' as a "necessary party" to the state's lawsuit on the Glennshire water issue.
Both complaints against the village will be heard before a judge on Sept. 18.
"I think the purpose of what we're doing is to protect the residents in that area, and anything that gets us closer to making sure that those citizens have safe water, I applaud that," said Rosemarie Cazeau, environmental bureau chief for the Attorney General's office.