Carpentersville residents protest industrial development

Critics speak out against warehouses in Dundee Township

From left: U.S. Capital Development’s Scott Sachtleben and Carpentersville’s Village President John Skillman along with the intersection of Randall and Binnie roads in Carpentersville (Getty Images, Google Maps, U.S. Capital Development, Village of Carpentersville)
From left: U.S. Capital Development’s Scott Sachtleben and Carpentersville’s Village President John Skillman along with the intersection of Randall and Binnie roads in Carpentersville (Getty Images, Google Maps, U.S. Capital Development, Village of Carpentersville)

Some residents of the northern Chicago suburb of Carpentersville aren’t happy about an industrial development in their community.

About 50 people gathered outside the Carpentersville village hall to speak out against a potential project that would bring 1 million square feet of warehouses to the almost 90 acres at the southeast corner of Randall and Binnie roads, the Daily Herald reported.

“We are putting the village board on notice that we’re not going to stop,” Tom French, one of the protest organizers, told the outlet.

While no formal plans have been submitted for the land, which is located in an unincorporated area between Carpentersville and West Dundee, the village did hear a concept plan by Missouri-based U.S. Capital Development in September.

More than 200 residents attended the September meeting and heard the plans for three warehouses totaling 1 million square feet and parking for up to 300 trucks. Protestors have expressed concerns that the industrial site would generate too much noise and pollution from the trucks. The main concern stems from the fact that the warehouses would sit next to private residences.

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Dundee Township Trustee Sue Harney said at the September meeting that she agrees with the residents speaking out against the project, but was light on specifics.

“The benefit you perceive for Carpentersville comes at an enormous cost, both personally and financially, for all of us,” Harney said. “You can demand better land use. You have that power, or you can settle for a logistics hub that will hurt the people who believe in you to look out for their best interests.”

Opponents have also pointed out that the land is adjacent to the “last green frontier in Dundee Township,” which provides open space and crucial stormwater retention.

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— Victoria Pruitt