The Forest Preserve District’s Land Acquisition Committee has narrowly ruled out buying 136 acres southeast of Wilmington.
On a 5-4 vote Wednesday, committee members opted not to spend $1.2 million for the Wesley Township farmland.
In a separate action, committee members voted to suspend acquiring land in Wesley Township for a month.
Both actions responded to concerns raised by Wesley Township Supervisor Jack Rossi and Forest District Commissioner Don Gould (R-Joliet), whose Will County Board district encompasses Wesley Township.
Rossi told the committee the additional acquisitions by the forest district would increase taxes on privately owned property in the township and deter residential and commercial development.
Forest district officials countered that the acquisition would mean a total increase of only $1,200.
The forest district currently owns 620 acres in Wesley Township, which is roughly half the size of a typical 36-square-mile township. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources also owns several hundred acres along the Kankakee River, which borders the township’s southern edge.