A Mall of Silence

Had the LakeCountyEye been on the mall ball then readers of this blog would have been aware that plans for a monster mega-mall in Lake Zurich have been cooking for more than a year -- and, ha ha, no one knew about it. The Mayor of North Barrington, for instance, told the Daily Herald ...

he was completely taken aback when he learned recently of the proposed 800,000-square-foot retail and commercial development at the southeast corner of Rand and McHenry roads. His outrage grew after learning county officials had been working on the proposal for more than a year without informing the neighboring municipalities.
New mall plan could reignite old Taubman land war

The top-secret, top-dollar, top-heavy deal involves among the usual suspects, developers, unincorporated Lake County property, the Lake County Regional Planning Commission. The property, owned by Robert and Constance Dimucci would need to be re-zoned by a vote of the Lake County Board. Cheerleading the effort is Lake County Commissioner Stevenson Mountsier. According to the Daily Herald ...

Mountsier said he will support the proposal when it comes before the county board, probably in May. "These people, the Dimuccis, want it to be a first-class shopping center," Mountsier said. "I know they're willing to do whatever the ordinances call for. I can tell you it will be a first-class job."
New mall plan could reignite old Taubman land war

Towering projects of this nature, by law, are required to be vetted before the public. To fulfill the obligation, the Lake County Regional Planning Commission scheduled a meeting -- on short notice, and at a time and place guaranteed to minimize attendance:

Monday, February 6, 3:00 PM
Ela Area Library
Lake Zurich

Well that was yesterday. As they say today in the highlands, the best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley. According to the Daily Herald ...

A planned discussion about a possible commercial development near Hawthorn Woods met with public hostility Monday and then was abruptly adjourned because dozens of would-be audience members were unable to enter the meeting room in Lake Zurich.
Talk about proposed land plan near Hawthorn Woods cut short due to legal concerns

Ha ha, 300 people showed up to protest at library room booked at a capacity of 150. When they couldn't all fit in the meeting had to be cancelled for violating the Open Meetings Act. Your LakeCountyEye has been told that among the players in attendance were no less than four Lake County Commissioners: Stevenson Mountsier, Aaron Lawlor, Craig Taylor, Diana O'Kelly.

A new meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 22, exact time and place TBD.

Note to ops: this is a multi-million dollar deal. No one is going to roll over because some angry pensioners show up at a public meeting to vent. If you attend the do-over meeting and if you see Mountsier or Lawlor or Taylor or O'Kelly or another County Commissioner, tell them that you have a lot of free time and extra money on your hands. And if the Mall does go forward as planned then you will look forward to supporting their opponent in the upcoming Primary or General election. Elected officials pay attention when things gang aft agley.