Boeger Place backers hope to end conflict with Arlington Heights
The Rev. Jeffrey Phillips, pastor of St. John United Church of Christ in Arlington Heights, said he believes prayer can help build community.
With that in mind, he led an informal “prayer walk” Wednesday around a vacant patch of land on the north end of the village — a spot that he and other local religious leaders hope will be the site of a new residence for people with mental illness.
“Mental illness is something that affects nearly every family, every parish,” Phillips said. “We're not talking about some faraway group of people.”
The proposed residence, known as Boeger Place, is the subject of a legal battle between the village and developers/supporters of the project. The village board refused in 2010 to grant zoning variances needed to move forward with the plan. Later that year, Boeger Place supporters sued the village in federal court, accusing it of discrimination. The village denies the charge.
Phillips and the dozen or so others who attended Wednesday's prayer walk sang hymns, said prayers and called for both sides to settle the litigation and work together to get Boeger Place built.
“Secure housing is needed here in this area for persons choosing to live their lives with dignity and independence, even in the face of mental illness,” village resident Fay Michaelis said.
The prayer walk was part of what local religious leaders are calling the Good Neighbors Campaign. Boeger Place supporters will be circulating petitions on behalf of the project during the next couple of weeks, and they'll bring the petitions to a rally scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 30, at St. John United Church of Christ.
Three agencies are behind the Boeger Place proposal: The Task Force, a group that advocates for the creation of residences for people with mental illness in the North and Northwest suburbs; Thresholds, a provider of psychiatric rehabilitation services; and the Daveri Development Group. Their plan calls for a 30-unit building at 120-122 E. Boeger that will serve people who have mental illness but are capable of living independently. The proposed site is slightly less than one acre.
“We think it's a great project, and sorely needed,” said Hugh Brady, co-president of the Task Force.
Arlington Heights attorney Jack Siegel said Wednesday that village officials never questioned the need for such a project. In fact, they expected the agencies behind the plan to come back with a modified proposal after the village board's 2010 decision.
“It was purely a zoning decision,” he said. “We thought there would be more discussions about it.”
Instead, the proponents sued, Siegel said. The village has filed a motion asking that the suit be dismissed without a trial. The plaintiffs responded to the motion, and Siegel said an answer to that response must be filed by May 11.
Phillips said he remains hopeful a deal can be reached before the case goes to trial.
“If the people involved make an effort to come together, good things can happen,” he said.