Winfield land sale falls short of votes, but will be back

Another long-sought project to enhance Winfield's town center district hit a roadblock on Thursday.

The Winfield village board wasn't able to muster the four votes necessary to approve a land sale to pave the way for construction of a pedestrian underpass at the Metra train station near Winfield and Jewell roads.

Two trustees, Deborah Birutis and Christine Petitti, did not attend Thursday's meeting, so Trustee Joel Kunesh's vote against the $460,000 purchase of the Winfield Place Salon was enough to prevent the board from approving the sale.

The property, in addition to providing space for the underpass, would also make room for a future parking garage in the town center.

Village President Rudy Czech said the board will reconsider the land sale at its next meeting.

The $3.1 million pedestrian underpass has often been associated with Winfield's long-sought town center revitalization plan.

Past officials have argued the project was needed to ensure the safety of schoolchildren crossing the tracks to Winfield Primary and Central schools as well as the elementary school run by St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

Village Manager William Barlow said that thanks to state and federal grants, the village will have to pay only $100,000 of the project's cost.