THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2008
Billboard, Property Future Subject of Meet
By TODD WESSELL
Journal & Topics Editor
Sixth ward Ald. Mark Walsten will meet with the owner of the O'Hare Lakes office center today (Friday) to discuss the possibility of moving a controversial billboard onto his property and recent revelations that efforts are being made to purchase residential property immediately west of the giant complex.
Walsten said he contacted Robert Kozonis earlier this week to discuss moving a billboard located near River Road and Touhy Avenue to the O'Hare Lakes Office complex located about half a mile to the south and west. O'Hare Lakes is situated just north of Devon Avenue at Des Plaines' far southeast corner across from Rosemont.
At the meeting, said Walsten, he will also raise the subject of former 6th ward aldermen Tom Becker and a group of investors' attempts at buying residential property immediately west of O'Hare Lakes. Becker, a Realtor, has sent letters to some homeowners on the east side of Craig and Patton drives asking if they would be willing to sell their property. He said they are interested in accumulating rental property on those streets. The Journal & Topics Newspapers this week uncovered the fact that Becker has approached the Des Plaines Park Dist. about acquiring all or part of Eaton Field Park that's located between Craig and Patton. Park commissioners are scheduled to meet in closed session on that subject Aug. 21. Park Director John Hecker said he was recently approached by Becker about the sale of Eaton Field Park and that Becker said a developer is interested in the property.
As reported in the Wednesday Journal, two homes on Craig Drive have been bought by Becker and a recently formed limited liability company, Des Plaines Ventures LLC. Becker acknowledged that he is part of that group but declined to identify the other investors.
Meanwhile, Ald. Walsten said he talked with Kozonis this Monday or Tuesday about meeting on the subject of relocating a controversial billboard at River and Touhy. The idea, said Walsten, is to move that billboard to O'Hare Lakes property along the tollway owned by Kozonis. In the past, Walsten said, Kozonis has not been interested in the idea. The billboard has been the subject of much criticism from nearby residents who feel it detracts from their neighborhood and devalues their homes. The billboard was installed before Walsten was elected alderman in 2007. At that time, Becker was 6th ward alderman.
A possible connection to the matter is the potential location of a casino should the state pick Des Plaines as the site of Illinois' 10th license. For the last several years, Des Plaines' partner in the casino venture, Chicago real estate billionaire Neil Bluhm, has identified the former Xerox office building on River Road north of Devon as a desirable site for a casino in Des Plaines. However, it's believed that Bluhm has considered other locations with speculation that O'Hare Lakes may be one of those sites. It is a large parcel and includes Peterson Lake. Casinos in Illinois must be "riverboats" meaning they must be situated on water.
Besides Des Plaines, several other communities are competing for the right to host a casino, including neighboring Rosemont, Waukegan, Country Club Hills and Summit.
Whichever community hosts a casino will be able to reap tens of millions of dollars annually in revenue through a special state tax. Rosemont officials have said they are not so much interested in host community tax revenue as they are in attracting more people and shows to their convention center, arena and many hotels.
Numerous attempts over the last several months by the Journal & Topics to contact a Bluhm spokesman for comment have not been successful. Kozonis did not return a call from the newspaper this week.