Illinois Lawmaker Pushes Wirtz to Redo Mundelein Impact Fees

The plan is big, but the fees are small, and a lawmaker is getting involved.

State Rep. Daniel Didech is seeking to revive negotiations over school impact fees tied to the Wirtz family’s $2 billion Ivanhoe Village development in Mundelein, arguing the approved deal shortchanges local school districts and taxpayers, Crain’s reported.

Didech is using an unusual legislative maneuver to pressure the Chicago suburb and project developer back to the table, holding off on sending a recently passed bill to the governor’s desk — legislation that would expand school districts’ negotiating power in future development deals — to give local officials time to revise their agreement.

Mundelein’s village board approved a $10.8 million impact fee package for three local school districts in April, far below the $90 million district leaders say they’ll need to serve as many as 900 new students the project is expected to generate.

Didech said he hopes the village and the developer will “treat the taxpayers of Mundelein fairly” by renegotiating a more equitable deal.

The Wirtz family, owners of the Chicago Blackhawks and co-owners of the United Center, unveiled plans for Ivanhoe Village in late 2022. The 700-acre site has been in the family since the 1850s and was annexed into the village to support the project. The plan calls for a 20 to 25-year buildout of nearly 3,600 homes, senior housing, more than half a million square feet of commercial space and 1.3 million square feet of industrial.

The village has yet to approve the full development proposal, though the impact fee package was seen as a key hurdle and a tumultuous community issue.

Didech said he’s optimistic village Mayor, Robin Meier will lead a more collaborative process. Meier, in an email to school officials after the bill’s passage, said the village needs legal review of the legislation before resuming talks.

Neither the Wirtz Corporation nor Mundelein officials have commented publicly on Didech’s move. Former Mayor Steve Lentz previously dismissed the districts’ objections as an attempt to “shame” the Wirtzes into higher payments.

— Judah Duke