Some residents of South Barrington protest before the South Barrington Park District Board of Commissioners meeting at the South Barrington Park District Community Center Aug. 30, 2023 in South Barrington. Residents attended the meeting to protest a pending land sale to Plymouth Brothers Christian Church. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
Demonstrators showed up to a South Barrington Park District board meeting Wednesday night, first protesting outside the community center where the meeting was held, then going inside as proceedings started, and lambasted commissioners over a recent attempt to sell a parcel of land to a church.
“Are we going to sit here and let the sale close?” South Barrington resident Steve Janowiak posed to park board commissioners. “No.”
At issue is the sale of Park District-owned land to Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, a faith organization that, according to its website, started in England in the 19th Century and currently has 50,000 members worldwide.
Steve Janowiak, of South Barrington, speaks out at the South Barrington Park District Board of Commissioners meeting Aug. 30, 2023 in the South Barrington Park District Community Center. Residents attended the meeting to protest a pending land sale to Plymouth Brothers Christian Church. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
Members of the South Barrington Park District Board of Commissioners, including board President Pete Perisin, center, listen to members of the public as they spoke out during the Aug. 30, 2023 board meeting in opposition to a pending land sale to Plymouth Brothers Christian Church. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
The official purchaser, Fourth Avenue Gospel Building Inc., with an address in Schaumburg, was set to buy the approximately 34 acres of land located at Bartlett Road and Route 59/Sutton Road — also known as “Area N” — for $1.7 million with a closing date of Aug. 29, the day before Wednesday’s meeting.
Residents were irate over the date change, which some said was initially to be in September, calling it a sneaky move by the Park District. They also took issue with other aspects of the sale.
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