Thoughtful Progress for Sugar Grove

In late December 2019 the communities of Sugar Grove and Blackberry Township had two weeks to quickly come together and organize an opposition.  That was the beginning of Thoughtful Progress for the
I-88/Route 47 Corridor.  

 

We went through 3 hearings, and based on the large turnout of hundreds of people in a growing opposition, and all the well delivered testimonies, together we successfully stopped 8 million square feet of warehousing from taking over the I-88 interchange.  In the spring of 2020 two Sugar Grove residents, Jennifer Konen and Ryan Walter, won seats as trustees with the Village of Sugar Grove on a write in and mail in ballot victory.  The candidates promised voters that they would ensure Crown Development would never again bring logistic warehousing into our community.

 

In the spring of 2021, Jennifer Konen won an election for Village President.  Immediately she re-engaged Crown Community Development.  She negotiated with them a concept of residential housing, commercial/retail, and green space on the south side of the tollway, yet in exchange gave Crown permission to develop 3.5 million square feet of warehousing on the north side of the tollway and requested a fueling station.  

 

The negotiations didn’t stop there, two conditions were tied in, a large TIF expected to be in the ballpark of $100 million, redirecting 90% of the development’s property tax revenue away from the 15 taxing bodies (for example, Kane County, Kaneland School District, fire departments, police departments, and library) for 23 years extendable up to 47 years.  The second condition contractually allows Crown Community Development to change land use and zoning after 5 years to the land’s most marketable use, on any parcel that does not sell, or has been sold but was not developed within the 5 years.  With these stipulation in place, Crown Community Development would not require a Village of Sugar Grove hearing process to make these changes. This condition threatens that the south side of the tollway could also revert to industrial warehousing in 5 years if residential developers do not buy the land and build on it.  This was shocking news to the community who trusted that they were protected from this large scale warehousing.  

 

During 2023 Jennifer Konen and the trustees, as well as the planning commission have been approving changes to give Crown Community Development maximum flexibility without the burden of public hearing processes.  Also, a conceptual website marketing The Grove on the south side of tollway, and Grove Park on the north side of the tollway, was introduced as a sales and marketing tool.  Committees were formed with trustees sitting on them and close allies to promote the development of The Grove and Grove Park.  CMAP was hired to update the Comprehensive Land Use map granting Crown Community Development’s Land and the surrounding land almost reaching to Main Street and Bliss Roads the very flexible land usage of Business Park, despite large public opposition and a petition signed by hundreds of people.  

 

This Business Park land usage could easily create an environment of industrial sprawl leading to more and more warehouses.  The Village of Sugar Grove board passed ordinances for data centers.  They granted Permitted Use status to many types of warehousing developments.  These changes were made to attract businesses via a quick and easy approval process through the Development Department, rather than the Village’s planning commission and board, again removing public hearings.  

 

The Village of Sugar Grove is in the process of implementing the strictest public comment and cross-examination rules, that far exceed the rules of surrounding municipalities, constraining and removing the public voice.  Yet for developers, they have extended themselves fully by removing control measures and public hearings to an extent that other municipalities, including Joliet, would not dare to implement.  

With permitted uses being applied to ordinances, the flexibility of Business Park land use and PDD zoning, developers and businesses can be assured approval with little to no means left for the Village board to retroactively change their ordinances in an effort to stop an undesirable business from entering the community.  Crown Community Development anticipates that in September 2023 they will submit their applications for annexation, zoning, and TIF approval to be packaged together in one hearing process. This development is not worth the risk!  

 

For the next 23-47 years, it will not benefit the community, it will be a burden to tax payers and the taxing bodies causing an increase in taxes.  It will also attract industrial sprawl to the area creating risk to our health, safety and welfare.  It will have a negative impact to our investments in our homes and family.  It will forever change the atmosphere of our green, peaceful, safe community.  We can do better!  Why are we not controlling what is allowed into our community and growing responsibly?  A developer has a right to develop, but they do not have a right to develop whatever they want.  

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Although our following is greatly increasing, we need your help between now and the completion of the fall/winter 2023 hearings.  Your help is an investment in the health, safety and welfare of your home, as well as your community.  We are working hard to protect the safe and peaceful environment we know and love from industrial destruction.  We are working hard to protect our financial investments in our home values and property taxes.  We have offered to the Village of Sugar Grove an alternative compromise to help attract a healthcare development concept instead.  Below are the many ways you can help as much or as little as you are able to give.  

 

Despite the stress and urgency of this burden, we can offer you a welcoming to a community of people who have enjoyed working together and learning through this process. Sometimes we are called crazy, we are, we are crazy for our community and hope you will be too.  

 

Please feel free to message us at ThoughtfulProgress@outlook.com or via Messenger through the Thoughtful Progress for the i88/Route 47 Corridor Facebook page.
 

• Sign petitions when they become available.

• Follow our Facebook pages for updates… Thoughtful Progress for the i88/Route 47 Corridor, and Responsible Development at i88/Rt 47.

• Share our post, like or comment to help get the word out.

• Send emails to Crown Community Development.

• Talk to your friends and neighbors about this development and updates as we share them.

• Attend a board meeting and give public comment.

• Put a sign in your yard expressing opposition to help bring awareness.

• Attend the hearings and show opposition.  (This is very important.)

• Help pass out flyers.

• Prepare a cross-examination testimony for the hearing (This is also very important.)

• Use your professional experience, knowledge, or network to help us research and find ways to defend ourselves.

• If you are committed to opposing Crown and want to dig in deeper, meanwhile making some great friends, join our inner circle of planners, we would love to have you on board.

• Send an emails to board members and politicians.  
  Below is a list of contacts…
   

 Village of Sugar Grove President Jennifer Konen
(May 2025) jkonen@sugargroveil.gov

Village of Sugar Grove Trustee Shawn Herron
(May 2025) sherron@sugargroveil.gov

Village of Sugar Grove Trustee Heidi Lindi
(May 2027) hlendi@sugargroveil.gov

Village of Sugar Grove Trustee Michael Schomas
(May 2025) mschomas@sugargroveil.gov

Village of Sugar Grove Trustee Sean Michels
(May 2027) smichels@sugargroveil.gov

Village of Sugar Grove Trustee Jaime White
(May 2025) jwhite@sugargroveil.gov

Village of Sugar Grove Trustee Matthew Bonnie
(May 2027) mbonnie@sugargroveil.gov