Citizens Organize to Save Local Forest - meeting May 20th

Tuesday, May 20, 7:00 pm
Spring Avenue Recreation Center (intersection of Spring Ave. and Route 53), Glen Ellyn

by Melissa Creech, www.saveackermanwoods.com

Hundreds of concerned citizens, as well as DuPage County and State officials are expected to attend the Glen Ellyn Park District board meeting on Tuesday to put a halt to a plan to destroy acres of important forest and wetlands on public land at Ackerman Park in Glen Ellyn.

The plan has drawn the outrage from the community as it has leaked out in recent weeks. Recent revelations that the project will increase flood risk to private unincorporated residences, despite warnings dating back to 2001 by the Glen Ellyn Village Engineer of "severe drainage problems," have led residents to question whether the plan exposes the community to legal risk.

The County of DuPage has begun a review of the project because of potentially illegal dumping in wetlands at Ackerman Park by the Glen Ellyn Park District. The Village and Park District had planned to proceed with the project without required permits despite the County wetlands violation notices dating back to 2005.

The Glen Ellyn Village and Park District have attempted to protect the project by misrepresenting and withholding information from the public, and by redirecting citizens back and forth between the two government bodies.

Thousands of outraged members of the community have signed petitions and written scores of letters to local newspapers. The project has drawn letters of protest from the Sierra Club, the Citizens for Glen Ellyn Preservation and the Village of Glen Ellyn's own Environmental Committee.

The Glen Ellyn Park District board meeting is Tuesday, May 20 at 7 pm at the Spring Avenue Recreation Center, located at the intersection of Spring Avenue and Route 53 in Glen Ellyn.

Interviews and site tours can be arranged before the meeting on request. Please contact David Creech at 630-649-9658.

More information on the project and community opposition to it, including documents obtained through FOIA requests, can be found online at www.saveackermanwoods.com.