LITH airport deal falls through, trial scheduled

A tentative deal resolving nearly three years of courtroom battles over Lake in the Hills Airport expansion has fallen apart, sending the case to trial next month.

McHenry County Judge Michael Caldwell on Monday scheduled an Aug. 23 trial to determine how much the village should pay the Athans Co. for a three-quarter-acre lot north of the airport needed for the facility to meet Federal Aviation Administration requirements.

Caldwell set the trial after lawyers for the village and Athans reported the demise of a settlement paying the company $780,000.

"We've concluded that the two sides are not going to get close enough to reach an agreement," said Michael Smoron, an attorney for Lake in the Hills.

A primary stumbling block, Smoron said, is a dispute over the location of a fence surrounding the airport property. Athans, he said, wants the fence located in a manner unacceptable to the FAA.

"(At that location) anybody who has access to Mr. Athans' property could walk onto the airport," Smoron said.

Athans' attorney Bill Ryan declined to comment on the fence issue.

"We're still hopeful this case will be resolved," he said.

Smoron said the village's offer will remain on the table in the weeks leading up to the trial.

Village officials need the Athans land as part of a $23 million project that includes construction of a new parking apron, shifting the taxiway farther from the airport's single runway and realigning Pyott Road.

Besides the $780,000, the proposed settlement would allow Athans to maintain access to the runway for a monthly fee that could rise if the company used it for a commercial purpose, such as a charter service.