Legal battle continues over Montessori school

The legal battle surrounding a Montessori school in Glen Ellyn continues to rage.

Among recent developments:

• A neighbor of the school, who has opposed its opening in a residential area, told village officials they are making too many concessions for the project.

• The police chief said his department is looking into vandalism at the school.

• A judge has issued a preliminary ruling on a lawsuit against Diamante Montessori School, filed by neighbors, that allows work to continue at the former church site at 625 Hillside Ave.

Opponents had been hoping to prevent construction at the site until the lawsuit was resolved. The village recently granted approval for the work.

Carl Cepuran, who lives next to the proposed school, said he is concerned because the owners had a large deficit balance on their escrow but were allowed to continue work.

"There's a concern that there seems to be a policy that's (only) followed sometimes," he said.

Cepuran said neighbors also have had a hard time getting information from the village in a timely manner.

"We just want to be able to get the information that's due to residents," he said.

He also brought up a work stop order against the school because its asbestos abatement was not done properly.

However, police Chief Phil Norton, at the village board meeting Monday, said the owners of the school have been harassed and police believe the asbestos may have been planted.

Village Attorney Stuart Diamond said the village has received 80 Freedom of Information requests from neighbors, which take time to process.

Officials also defended the information that was released, pointing to verbatim transcripts from several plan commission meetings dedicated to the school.