Having already moved forcibly to acquire 65 acres near Oak Brook owned by a conservative Christian organization, the DuPage County Forest Preserve Commission has approved condemning an additional 52 contiguous acres owned by the same group.
The move seeks to beef up the presence of forest preserves in the highly developed east side of DuPage County by acquiring the land owned by the Institute in Basic Life Principles.
The land is located east of Illinois Highway 83 and south of 31st Street, said Roger Kotecki (R-Glen Ellyn Countryside), vice chairman of the commission’s Finance and Land Acquisition Committee.
Last year, the Forest Preserve Commission condemned the 65 acres, and has found itself in a legal battle. Kotecki said he expects a similar reaction.
“We expect and are prepared for long, protracted and difficult litigation,” he said.
Commissioners have said they want to buy the land to carve a new forest preserve between the Mayslake and Fullersburg Forest Preserves, both in Oak Brook.
If the Forest Preserve Commission is successful in acquiring all 117 acres, it would take more than half of the 220 acres owned by Basic Life, a religious research and educational organization.
Kotecki said the land is attractive because it complements nicely the original 65 acres the district wants to acquire. That land is wooded and filled with wetlands and a small artificial lake.
The 52 acres is more dry and will give users of the property a place to walk around and visit.
“This is the last big chunk of open land in York Township,” Kotecki said. “And unlike the other land, which has more wetlands, this is high and dry and would be useful to the people of DuPage County who wish to visit and use it.”
Officials from Basic Life did not return phone calls.
But the group in the past said it was willing to listen to offers for its property, if the price is right.
Some have estimated the property to be worth as much as $1 million an acre. It would be worth even more if there were imminent plans to develop the property into high-end housing.
Kotecki said he has no information about any such plans, noting the institute several years ago failed in its attempts to get approval from the Village of Oak Brook to build dormitory-type structures on the land.