Resident takes legal action hoping to thwart Homer Glen land sale
A Homer Glen resident has filed an injunction in the Will County Circuit Court seeking to stop the village of Homer Glen from selling a parcel of land on Bell Road.
The Homer Glen Village Board unanimously voted July 8 to sell a two-story abandoned farmhouse and 0.73 acre parcel at 15304 Bell Road to David and Pamela Bengtson, owners of Bengtson’s Pumpkin Farm, for $35,000. As part of the agreement, the Bengtsons must tear down the 1850’s-era farmhouse, which has long been considered an eyesore in the village.
David and Pamela Bengtson plan to use the property for personal use since they own adjacent land. The land sale was not on behalf of the pumpkin farm, they said last week.
Homer Glen resident Brian LaGiglia, a real estate investor, however, said that the land should be rebid.
He offered $30,000 for the land on May 7 and then offered $56,000 for the land on June 17 after learning that Bengtson family submitted an offer for $35,000.
LaGiglia is looking to stop the land transaction and has filed a motion for a temporary restraining order in the Will County Circuit Court. A hearing is scheduled for Friday.
John Schrock, attorney for LaGiglia, said the property needs to be put back out to bid, and the highest bidder should purchase the property.
“May the highest bid win,” Schrock said.
Homer Glen has owned the land since October 2018 as part of a court proceeding. It announced last year that it would seek bids on the property with the hope of receiving $90,000 for the land, but the village did not receive any bids.
According to the complaint, the village again sought bids on Feb. 13, but no bids were submitted by the requested deadline of April 10.
Mayor George Yukich said last week that the Village Board came to a consensus to sell the land to the Bengtsons when there were two offers on the property. The board decided to take the higher of the two offers at the time, which was the Bengtson’s offer of $35,000, Yukich said.
Yukich, who said last week the village completed the process fairly, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The village wants the abandoned house torn down within 90 days of the property’s sale. The house has been boarded up for several years after reports of trespassing and vandalism.