Elk Grove forcibly annexes Firestone site

Elk Grove Village Tuesday night voted to bring a half-acre area with a Firestone business into its village limits.

Trustees voted 5-0 to annex the property at 2627 E. Higgins Road at Landmeier Road. Trustee Chris Prochno abstained, saying her family did business at Elk Grove Firestone over the years.

Elk Grove Firestone owner Erich Mendel addressed the board Tuesday in opposition to the forcible annexation.

"My concern is I don't see any benefit to myself," he said. "All I see is the possibility of hardship."

Being in the village brings an extra percentage point in sales tax for customers and means having to get a business license to operate in the village. Also, the property has a billboard but Elk Grove Village currently bars billboards.

Mayor Craig Johnson said the village can work with Mendel about the billboard and his other concerns, including paying to access the village's water and sewer systems.

Mendel's son, Erik, last week questioned whether a prominent Elk Grove developer had asked the village to annex the property. Gullo International Development Corp., an Elk Grove Village-based company, is trying to lease about 2 acres it owns adjacent to the Firestone property.

But Johnson scoffed at that accusation. He said the village is interested in cleaning up its borders. Johnson said village officials had tried to meet with Mendel more than a month ago but he finally took them up on the offer on Aug. 8. The mayor said Mendel likes to link himself with the village, using the name "Elk Grove Firestone."

"He wants the benefits of the community without being in the community," Johnson said.

The business is located in Elk Grove Township. A lawyer representing the township's fire protection district also spoke against the annexation.

Attorney Carolyn Welch Clifford said the district finds the erosion of its tax base a hardship since it gets most of its funding through property taxes.