Forest district may cut losses in 12-year golf course battle DuPage County Forest Preserve may cover $1 million in legal fees By Robert Sanchez

A DuPage County Forest Preserve commissioner says it might be time for the district to abandon its 12-year legal fight to forcibly acquire a golf course in northwest Naperville.

The district's push to buy Country Lakes Country Club suffered a setback this week when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the $10.7 million sale price set by a jury four years ago isn't valid because it was based on a 1999 appraisal. The supreme court determined the price of the 204-acre parcel south of Diehl Road and west of Route 59 should be based on its current value.

Attorneys for Country Lakes' owner Robert Krilich Sr. say they believe the value of the golf course is at least $20 million. Now forest preserve commissioners must decide whether the district still wants to buy the property. If the district abandons its effort to acquire the land, it would be legally required to pay all of Krilich's legal fees for the past 12 years — nearly $1 million.

Still, forest preserve Commissioner Michael Formento said Friday it might make sense for the district to cut its loses.

“All we've done is racked up legal expenses on our side,” Formento said. “It would seem to me that more litigation is probably something I'm not interested in, particularly if we did a new appraisal and it came in at that $20 million number.”

Formento noted the forest preserve would get back the $10.7 million it set aside after the jury's 2007 verdict. The district got that money as part of a $75 million referendum voters approved in 1997 so it could buy land.

Formento said the forest preserve could use the money to buy land “more important than golf courses.”

When the condemnation proceedings started in 1999, one of the district's long-term goals was to own a course in every corner of the county.

Commissioner Roger Kotecki says other reasons the forest preserve wanted the land include stormwater retention and preserving open space in the southwest corner of the county.

“Those reasons were good reasons then, and frankly, they're all still good reasons today,” Kotecki said.

Kotecki questioned whether another trial in 2012 or 2013 would result in a jury finding that Country Lakes' value has significantly increased.

“The market for real estate is depressed,” he said. “There would be a good chance we get it for less than $10.7 million.”

Kotecki said the district might have to get a new appraisal of the property “just to make an intelligent decision.”

If Krilich's attorneys are right and the land is worth more than $10.7 million, Kotecki said the district could borrow money or dip into landfill reserves to make up the difference.

“We could raise the money if we decide it's worth that much,” he said.

Commissioner Linda Painter said the forest preserve board may need a closed-door discussion before deciding how to proceed. “There's going to be a lot of decision-making that needs to happen,” she said.

Copyright © 2012 Paddock Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

3.       The business plan for the vacant site informally vetted by Mr. Krilich with the mayor and two

other city officials could provide the hard cash the government seeks.

Under that plan, Mr. Krilich would give a hotel chain free rein to convert a three-story, 72,000-square-foot office building and adjacent banquet hall, both of which have stood largely empty for the past seven years. He would sell 30 acres to develop about 600 apartments, another 30 acres for a nine-hole golf course and about 400 condominiums and the remaining 20 acres to a discount retailer.

Mr. Krilich reportedly is in discussions with Michigan-basedMeijer Inc. to build a discount store along Butterfield Road.Meijer is already planning its first Chicago-area store in southwest suburban Bolingbrook, and is considering other regional sites, a spokesman says. At this point, an Oakbrook Terrace deal is still speculation, he adds.

Plan draws hostility, skepticism.  But Mr. Krilich's development plan has elicited hostility from some Oakbrook Terrace residents - and open skepticism from real estate brokers.

Alderman Joe Flanagan blasts Mayor Kallas for meeting secretly with Mr. Krilich to review development proposals and for promoting more construction in an already overbuilt area.

"It's the last piece of operable land for our city," he says. "It should be done right. I'd like to

see a lot of open space devoted to it."

Naperville golf course condemnation takes new twist By Robert Sanchez

An Illinois Supreme Court ruling Thursday could force DuPage County Forest Preserve officials to pay double the price for a Naperville golf course they’ve been trying to forcibly acquire for 12 years.

Four years ago, a DuPage jury awarded Country Lakes Country Club to the forest preserve in a condemnation suit against owner Robert Krilich Sr. But the $10.7 million sale of the 204-acre parcel never happened because Krilich appealed the decision.

In its ruling, the supreme court said the state law used to determine the value of the condemned land is unconstitutional.

State law requires condemned property to be valued based upon the date that a governmental entity files its eminent domain complaint. Unless Thursday’s decision is overturned, the ruling determined a property owner is entitled to be paid the value of the land at or around the date of trial.

In the case of Country Lakes, the value of the property likely will be based upon 2012 estimates — not estimates from when the condemnation proceedings started in 1999. Another jury in DuPage would have to determine the latest value after a new trial.

James Wagner, Krilich’s attorney, said he believes the current value of the golf course is “$20 million or more.”

Even if the forest preserve abandons its effort to acquire the land, it will have to pay a price. Wagner said the forest preserve would be required by law to pay all of Krilich’s legal fees for the past 12 years — nearly $1 million. “They could not get any land and have to pay our fees,” Wagner said. “The other option is to retry the case and potentially pay significantly more money for the land.”

But the forest preserve would get back the $10.7 million it set aside at the DuPage treasurer’s office after the jury’s 2007 verdict.

Forest preserve spokesman Bill Weidner said the board of commissioners must discuss the supreme court ruling before deciding how to proceed.

“This is a matter that the board will likely address at its next meeting, since this is a land acquisition issue,” he said.

When the condemnation proceedings started 12 years ago, one of the district’s long-term goals was to own a course in every corner of the county.

During his re-election campaign last year, forest preserve President Dewey Pierotti said the only reason the district wants the land now is for stormwater retention. He said he would support shutting down the golfing operation at Country Lakes, razing the existing clubhouse and installing nature trails.

Wagner said he’s uncertain whether his client is more interested in keeping the golf course or getting more money for it.

“The ball is really in the forest preserves’ court to determine what they want to do,” Wagner said. “We’re going to have to react to that.”

In the meantime, Krilich is going to continue operating the golf course “until we find out otherwise,” Wagner said.

Copyright © 2012 Paddock Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

Forest City Enterprises Inc., one of the developers of the Central Station project in the South Loop, is paying about $1 million an acre for the 90-acre parcel, not including roads, which account for about 20 acres, said selling broker Robert R. Krilich of Royce Realty & Management Corp. Mr. Krilich's family owns the land through a trust.  The majority owner of the course, as well as 240 vacant acres to the west, is Royce Realty Co. of Oakbrook Terrace, which is controlled by Robert R. Krilich. Mr. Krilich.

Robert Krilich

Robert Krilich is the Managing Partner of Krilich Companies and Krilich Trust & Management Corp. with offices in Chicago, Ft. Lauderdale, and Las Vegas. Both are private real estate investment firms with various sub entities. Beginning at the age of 21, Mr. Krilich started a series of ventures in a number of industries, including credit card processing, telemarketing, fulfillment centers, and weight loss centers. Hisattention shifted to real estate in 1985 when he joined Royce Realty & Management Corporation in Oakbrook Illinois.Under his leadership as VP, Royce grew rapidly and in March of 1996, Krilich formed his own boutique real estate company that focused on multi-family and single family projects involving several Master Planned Communities in theMidwestern and Southwestern United States. Mr. Krilichwas responsible for managing in excess of $350 million in real-estate developments ranging from entitlement work, land planning as well as arranging conventional and (IRB) Industrial Revenue Bond financing for several projects. Mr. Krilich worked directly with various municipalities on entitlement issues, municipal bond issues, FEMA and wetland issues. In October of 2006 Mr. Krilich relocated his primary operation to Las Vegas, Nevada and formed a variety of partnerships that are responsible for the acquisition and development of 9 projects.

Mr. Krilich is a recognized industry leader and nationally renowned developer of large-scale commercial real estate developments. He is a 25-year veteran real-estate specialist with a Masters Degree in International Finance and a Minor Degree in Business Administration and has been certified by IREM and CCIM.

Mr. Krilich and his family actively participate in non-profit endeavors such as the City of Hope National Cancer Research Institute which has been improving the lives of men, women and children for the past 100 years, and The Wishing Well Foundation USA Inc. is a non-profit organization headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Foundation's single goal is to bring joy to children with life threatening illnesses by providing them with their fondest wish in life

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