The DuPage County Forest Preserve District has moved to condemn a third parcel of land, including a 163-acre Naperville golf course, owned by developer Robert Krilich, convicted in 1995 of bribing Oakbrook Terrace officials to back one of his projects.
Continuing its effort to establish a fourth golf course in the county, the district authorized its attorneys to file legal papers to condemn 18 acres of open space connected to the southeast side of the Country Lakes Golf Course in Naperville, said William Maio (R-Itasca), chairman of the district’s Finance and Land Acquisition Committee.
The district already has moved to condemn the golf course and an adjacent 40 acres, all owned by Krilich.
Maio said the 18 acres of open space is little more than “dirt” but that it will be turned into a major wetland if the district acquires it.
“It will help with storm-water protection and be part of the total package for the citizens of Naperville and the county,” Maio said.
The move bolsters the contentions of forest preserve and county storm-water management officials, who have said they want the property not only for its 18 holes of golf, but also because it is a great spot for flood control in rapidly growing Naperville.
Officials say the land and the several ponds on the golf course are needed to handle excess water during heavy rainstorms. If the Forest Preserve District does acquire the land, Maio has said work could be done to reconfigure the land to accept even more rainwater than it now holds.
Because of that, as much as $2 million is being set aside from county flood control funds — money overseen by the county and not the Forest Preserve District — to help buy the properties.
The golf course, west of Illinois Highway 59 and just south of Diehl Road, would become the fourth to be owned and operated by the Forest Preserve District and the first west of Interstate Highway 355. The three courses the district owns are Oak Meadows in Addison; Maple Meadows, a Wood Dale course that neighbors Oak Meadows; and Green Meadows in Westmont.
If the Forest Preserve District is able to acquire all the land it seeks as part of its Country Lakes plan, it would total 221 acres, said Janice Roehll, the district’s land acquisition manager.
Krilich is in federal prison, convicted in 1995 of bribing Oakbrook Terrace officials to back an ambitious project of his.
Federal prosecutors said Country Lakes was the site of a unique bribe from Krilich to former Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Richard Sarallo in which Sarallo’s son, Andrew, won a $40,000 antique car during a staged hole-in-one contest at a Krilich-sponsored event.
