Navistar's Lisle property road deal back on track

The controversial plan to give away a $1.5 million, 3-acre ring road behind the former Alcatel-Lucent building in Lisle to help lure Navistar's world headquarters to the site is back on.

The deal between the DuPage County Forest Preserve, Lisle and the county had been on shaky ground for some time and the deadline to formally ratify the sale passed last month with no action. However, the county board on Tuesday approved extending the deadline to August 31. The board was the last to act after Lisle and the forest preserve approved similar extensions last week.

Only county board member Rita Gonzalez voted against the extension, saying she doubts Navistar will rethink its headquarters move from Warrenville if the road sale isn't finalized.

"This deal seemed like corporate welfare from the beginning," she said. "This is completely illogical to me."

The county is spending $1 million for the road, while Lisle is chipping in $500,000. The forest preserve can sell its land only to other public agencies. The public entities will then turn the road over to Navistar. County officials who support the road deal said the county will reap the benefits of nearly 1,600 jobs the company will add to the county. That's in addition to home sales, increased sales tax revenue and ancillary construction and service jobs created by the move to Lisle, they said.

County board member Dirk Enger said he was still against spending $1 million on the road, but voted in favor of the extension, anyway.

Lisle's planning and zoning board is holding a hearing at 9 a.m. Saturday on Navistar's proposal at village hall at 925 Burlington Avenue. It's the first hearing on the proposal since the company submitted new design plans for the property.

Many neighbors remain opposed to the proposal because Navistar is seeking a special taxing district at the site and they are concerned some of the old plans calling for heavier industrial use at the site will eventually find its way back onto the property.

"This is a foot-in-the-door proposal that will allow Navistar to just go back to the plans they had before," said resident Julie Schnell.