F.T. 'Mike' Graham's fight for open space

As chairman of Illinois' first and only open space district, Libertyville Township supervisor F.T. "Mike" Graham had reason to appear before the House Counties and Townships Committee hearing in April on reforming the Illinois Open Space Act. But Graham, who is also a Lake County Board member, was not invited and didn't know about it until he read about it in the newspapers. He was angry at the snub.

His presence perhaps was unnecessary because his words and deeds on the subject are well known to many who attended the hearing, including developers and others who contend that the open space drive has gone a bit too far afield and it's time to rein it in.

In 1975, Graham nearly single-handedly spearheaded a movement in his township to create an open space district under the new Illinois Open Space Act. The first time his plan was presented to township voters, it failed four to one. It succeeded in November 1985 when voters, concerned about encroaching development, approved the district's formation by a 60 percent margin. Graham's selling points: Development hardly pays its own way because of the accompanying need to build more sewers, roads and schools. And growth that creates density and congestion contributes to diminishing the quality of life.

Libertyville's district, believed to be the country's first township based open space district, has acquired 659 acres of farmland through outright purchase, condemnation or obtaining development rights. Its goal is 2,500 acres, about 10 percent of the total township. Once in the district, the land is not available to developers who Graham contends are in a "gold rush" to the area as population in metropolitan Chicago expands northward.

The district is governed by four members of the township board sitting as members. Acquisitions are financed through proceeds of a $22.6 million general obligation bond issued by the district under the Open Space Act, which allows such a district to borrow up to 5 percent of its total assessed valuation. The 18-year bond costs a homeowner with $100,000 in assessed valuation $157 a year in additional real estate tax. "This is not a tax, but a blue chip stock," Graham is fond of saying. He claims that because of the open space program property value in the district has gone up 10 percent faster than in the surrounding townships.

Although his supporters call him "the open space champion" or "the green knight," developers and some landowners have branded him as anti-growth, an obstructionist or worse. The latter have formed the Association of Libertyville Township Property Owners and countersued the district, challenging its power to condemn and the Open Space Act's constitutionality.

Graham branded it a "black day for conservationists" when the General Assembly on July 1 approved legislation to amend the Open Space Act which severely limits a district's power to acquire land. The bill's supporter, including Maurice Sanderman of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago, pointed to the significance of the unanimity of the votes. The House voted 115 to 0 to adopt Senate Bill 591; the Senate confirmed changes made by the House with a resounding 55 to 0. The governor signed the bill July 29.

Under the bill's key provisions, a municipality can veto open space condemnations within or adjoining its boundaries. An open space district can challenge the veto by referendum, but it must first muster endorsement by 15 percent of the registered voters in the precincts involved. The bill also requires that before any new district can be formed, its sponsors must make full disclosure of the proposed plan including its cost, the parcels to be acquired and the tax to be levied.

Sanderman, who is president of Sustaining Builders' Council, a select group of the Home Builders, believes the amendments are necessary to put a stop to abuses by those who want to stop growth. "The open space concept is a good one, but advocates have found it as a vehicle not so much to provide open space as to stop growth. That's wrong," he said.

"The Open Space Act was the most visionary piece of legislation that ever came out of Springfield, but the amendment all but repeals it, especially for those planning to start a new district," observed Graham. He added that it will be next to impossible to challenge a municipality veto with the "unreasonable" 15 percent requirement.

Meanwhile, the Libertyville district is safe since the bill won't directly affect its pending condemnation suits involving nearly 2,000 acres.□

Long Hwa-shu is the business writer for The News-Sun in Waukegan, which is eight miles from Libertyville Township.

August & September 1988 | Illinois Issues | 29