Lessons learned from pig farm dispute
Bad fences make bad neighbors, and apparently so do pig farms and water towers.
Both are elements in the 3-year-old snit between Bob Wargaski of Wauconda Township and the village of Island Lake that stands as a pretty good example of government hardheadedness.
The issue was simple enough - the village wanted to build a water tower and community well across from Wargaski's property off Dowell Road. Instead of rolling over, Wargaski objected and obtained state permits to open and operate a pig farm.
His plan was to block the well and water tower by erecting a hog shed and storing animal feces within 400 feet of a potential water source.
It sparked threats, charges and counter charges, lawsuits and counter lawsuits.
Last week, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency ruled in favor of Wargaski, although the victory comes with an asterisk because it was due to a technicality - Island Lake's test well did not meet state standards to be converted to a permanent well.
Still, Wargaski emerges as a folk hero to any suburbanite ever bullied by a government agency in the name of the public good.
Whether or not you agree with him, Wargaski's lesson is an individual thinking creatively can take on a heavy-handed government.
Certainly, quickly opening a pig farm to block a new water tower and well qualifies as creative thinking.
The fact is this dispute probably never should have gotten this far.
There had to be a better way to handle this issue than lawsuits and ugly confrontations between residents and elected officials.
Wargaski objected to plans to build the water tower and well so close to his property. The village well would have been 250 feet from his private well, and he feared it would draw down his water supply. He feared a water tower close by would damage his property values.
Village officials charged the dispute was about money, and an attempt by Wargaski to leverage the village to improve the value of his property.
What's more clear is Island Lake has other options in this area to build the water tower and well that would be farther away from Wargaski and other nearby property owners.
And, maybe free of the kind of acrimony that drags out projects, increases costs and builds little more than ill will.
"Not in my backyard" is a familiar cry when government wants to build needed public facilities, such as prisons, sewage treatment plants, and yes, water towers and wells.
Some projects are so necessary and important that government has few options other than to move forward despite protests from nearby residents.
However, this seems to be one case where it might have been in everyone's best interest for the village to opt for an alternative site rather than forcing the issue.