Community Corner

What's Next for District 300 and the Sears EDA?

More than 1,000 D300 supporters lobbied en masse in Springfield Monday afternoon.

They've amassed more than 11,000 signatures on a petition. They've attended numerous Hoffman Estates village board meetings. They've rallied in Algonquin—and in Springfield.

For most District 300 supporters, at this point, they are simply left to wait and see whether the Senate will cover Senate Bill 540 during the veto session that starts today or if they will postpone it until spring 2012. The district ultimately hopes Amendment 3 is removed from the legislation.

On Monday, roughly 1,000 parents, students teachers and district supporters showed up to lobby in Springfield and get the attention of lawmakers before the Senate veto session starts. District 300 administrators have been hoping that during this session, the Senate will address the Sears EDA agreement. However, Senate Bill 540 was not on the agenda of the Senate Executive Commitee meeting Monday afternoon, leaving it questionable as to whether this issue will be covered in the upcoming weeks.

Find out what's happening in Algonquin-Lake In The Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ben Churchill, assistant superintendent for D300, was distributing witness statements Monday afternoon on the steps of the Capitol for supporters to sign if they were attending the commitee meeting.

"The purpose is for senators to see that there is support for Senate Bill 540, but opposition to Amendment 3," he said.

Find out what's happening in Algonquin-Lake In The Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Reportedly, lawmakers have been in talks with Sears regarding an agreement that would allow Sears to keep its tax breaks while also sending more money to District 300, according to an article in the Daily Herald. If the original agreement were extended an additional 15 years, the district would lose out on $14 million per year, officials say.

When the resolution was adopted in 1989 as a way to keep Sears in Illinois, leaders set the property tax incentives to last 23 years. With the agreement set to expire in mid-2012, the retail giant that employs more than 6,000 workers has been waging a campaign for another package of tax breaks, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune.

A core group of D300 supporters and administrators will remain in Springfield throughout the week. On its Facebook page, D300 posted Monday evening: "Well, we didn't get our hearing today in front of the Senate Executive Committee, but we DID get their attention! And we will be back at it tomorrow. We will not go quietly into the night. We will be present in Springfield as long as it takes either until Amendment 3 is pulled OR the senators look us in the eye as they vote on it! THANKS TO THE MORE THAN 1,100 of you who made the trip!"


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here