LINCOLN HALL CONSTRUCTION - REFERENDUM:
According to the December 2011 School Board motion they are looking for $23 million in bond sales for the cost of construction for Lincoln Hall. From the $23 million the School Board shall use $7 million to pay debt obtained from the construction of the Administration Building project. Additionally, the School Board will enter into an additional $10 million of debt in the form of installment contracts to cover the cost of construction for Lincoln Hall. (Please note, this will eventually need to be converted to bonds.) The total financial obligation for the Administration Building and a “new” Lincoln Hall would be $32 million dollars.
To date the School District has not provided the community any formal documents regarding the proposed Lincoln Hall construction project and its actual costs. To date all information has been verbal, therefore the community has very little to make an education decision on. Once real data is provided we will post the information on the website for your use.
The Administration Building:
We have requested through the use of the Federal Freedom of Information Act the construction costs and documents of the Administration Building. To date the School Administration has not complied with out legal request and we are still waiting for this information to be provided.
Why has this information been requested? To determine the true costs of the Administration Building. The School Board is looking to sell $7 million in bonds to cover debt obligations associated with the construction of the project. Given the size and nature of the Lincoln Hall project it is in the communities interest to understand how $7 million was spent on an addition.
Lincolnwood Resident’s for Referendum filed suit to halt the illegal construction of Lincoln Hall after the School Board continued to ignore numerous requests from the community for more information. When it became apparent that the School Board was going to continue to ignore the community inquires and proceed with illegally build a new school that was estimated to cost a minimum of $25 million dollars, a suit was filed to halt the illegal construction.
Why was the construction illegal?
Section 5/19-2 of the School Code for the State of Illinois explicitly requires authorization of a majority of the communities’ voters when a school board seeks to borrow money to build or repair schoolhouses or improve school sites. It provides in relevant part:
§ 19.2 School directors –Power to borrow money and issue bonds. For the purpose of building or repairing schoolhouses or purchasing or improving school sites, the directors of any school district, when authorized by a majority of the votes cast on such a proposition conducted in accordance with the general election law, may borrow money; and, as evidence of such indebtedness, may issue bonds
Section 105 ILCS 5/19-3 further states:
….[b]ut no such bonds shall be issued unless the proposition to issue them is submitted to the voters of the district at a referendum held at a regularly scheduled election after the board has certified the proposition to the proper election authorities…
Sections 105 ILCS5/10-22.36 further define and provide additional Sections 17-2.11, 19-3.5 and/ or 19-3.10 {105 ILCS 5/17-2.11, 105 ILCS 5/19-3-3, or 105 ILCS 5/19-3.10] provide additional information on voters rights and referendum.
Upon review of the Boards actions and bond notices, Lincolnwood Resident’s for Responsible Spending filed with the Circuit Court of Cook County for a Declaratory Judgment and Injunctive Relief. The objective was to halt the borrowing of $23 million dollars through bonds and to halt an installment contract for an additional $10 millions for the construction of a new Lincoln Hall. The total expenditure of $33 million dollars.
It should be noted by the community of Lincolnwood that the purchase of the properties on East Prairie Avenue and the construction on the Administration Building appear to have been illegal. The same State laws under the School Code that require the construction of a new school to be put to referendum before the voters of Lincolnwood, would have applied to this construction project also.
A copy of the lawsuit filed is attached
A general refusal by this Board to monitor both Board and Administrative spending and activities has led to a community investigation which has resulted in what can only be described as cavalier spending of District money by both the Board and Administration and further is a personal affront to each taxpayer of this small community, all of which adds insult to injury to those of us facing real financial hardships including those who are losing and have lost their homes in this community and those who live on fixed incomes.