Businessman questions McHenry Co. official's land sale

A Crystal Lake-area businessman is crying foul over Metra's plans to buy 17 acres partly owned by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler for a new rail station near the small community of Ridgefield.

Craig Steagall, owner of Woolf Distributing Co., has taken out newspaper ads and set up a Web site blasting the planned purchase, arguing the land is unsuitable for a rail station and questioning the ethics behind the proposed deal.

Steagall believes that his own 12-acre site - which Metra had shown interest in at one point - may be a better fit. But even if his own land were not involved, he said, he would still oppose Metra using the Koehler land.

"It's a terrible spot to put a Metra station," he said. "It reflects a politician selling his property, not the best interests of the community and it calls into question issues of leadership and accountability."

Metra's board of trustees is expected Friday to discuss, and probably vote on, the proposal, which is part of the agency's New Start program to expand service along its Union Pacific Northwest Line. The plan calls for new stations in Ridgefield, Johnsburg and Prairie Grove, new rail yards in Woodstock and Johnsburg, and other infrastructure improvements, Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said.

A final price for the property, which is owned by a trust in which Koehler holds a 50 percent stake, has not been determined, Gillis said.

Koehler this week dismissed Steagall's criticism as sour grapes from a landowner who wanted Metra to instead buy his property for the station.

"I'm not worried about what he says," he said. "It sounds like you've got a property owner who thinks it should be his property, not mine, that Metra buys."

"We've done everything aboveboard," Gillis said in response to Steagall's claims. "It's been a very public process. We've done it the right way."

Because of his position as a public official, Koehler said, his representatives and Metra have worked especially hard to operate aboveboard and justify their actions. That, he said, includes multiple appraisals of the property to ensure that the purchase price is appropriate.

"Because I'm the county board chairman, there are a lot more hurdles to jump through than there would be if I were a regular seller," he said.

Koehler's real estate representative, Michael Deacon, said every step of the process has been run past an attorney to make sure everyone was acting within the law.

The site, along the west side of Country Club Road adjacent to the closed 84 Lumber facility, was chosen because it sits about halfway between Metra's Crystal Lake and Woodstock stations, Gillis said. It also is situated on the north side of the tracks, allowing the station and waiting area to be located on the same side as inbound trains.

"This is the site that we determined was best for what we were looking for," Gillis said.

Steagall, however, claims the station will put too much traffic on Country Club and Hillside roads, creating a dangerous situation.

"It is an ill-suited site," he said. "You would be hard-pressed to find any reasonable person who would conclude this is not a poor selection by Metra."

Gillis said before moving ahead with a station, Metra will conduct a traffic study and improve or adjust neighboring roads as needed. Depending on funding and a required annexation of the land by the city of Crystal Lake, he added, it will be five years or more before the agency breaks ground on the project.