By Russell Lissau | Daily Herald
The South Barrington Park District’s 2024 auction of land that subsequently was sold to a religious group was improper, a Cook County judge has opined.
Judge Allen P. Walker’s decision doesn’t undo the sale of the 34 acres near Bartlett Road and Route 59 — property sometimes called “Area N” — to Schaumburg-based Fourth Avenue Gospel, nor does it halt that group’s plan to build a church and school there. Fourth Avenue is owned and operated by a congregation of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.
A lawsuit trying to cancel the sale and stop the project hasn’t been resolved either.
Park District Executive Director Jay Morgan declined to comment, saying the park board hasn’t had an opportunity to review the ruling. A Fourth Avenue representative couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Park district residents voted to allow the undeveloped property to be sold at auction in 2023. Fourth Avenue Gospel was the only bidder and offered about $1.7 million for the property.
But the park district board terminated the anticipated sale because of community opposition.
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