Will County Board members rejected Kathleen Konicki’s 11th-hour bid Thursday to save a historic barn in Homer Glen.
Only two board members–both from Konicki’s district– supported her bid to table consideration of an ordinance designating Homer Tail Barn and Milk House as historic landmarks.
Instead, the board turned down a proposal to confer historic designation on the facilities, reasoning the buildings are too deteriorated to repair.
Terri Ann Wintermute (R-Bolingbrook,) who heads the board’s Land Committee, also noted that the request for historic designation had been made by a resident, rather than the owner, which is the Will County Forest Preserve District.
Historic Preservation Commission Chairman Virginia Ferry, speaking through Land Use Director Curt Paddock, argued on behalf of historic designation.
Ferry, suffering from laryngitis, said funding issues “should not precede or preempt” evaluation. She said the massive structure, commonly known as the Tilsy Barn, more than meets the minimum requirements to be designated as a historic site.
Konicki wanted the forest district to consider hiring a second historic appraisal firm to determine if the barn structures could be saved. She said both the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois have asked Will County to seek a second opinion.
