Oakview residents accuse village of diverting $2 million from wheeling/water fund; board says issue will return for review

At the April 21 meeting of the Village of Lisle Village Board, Oakview residents pressed the board over ownership of water mains and a $2,000,000 fund they said was taken from the Oakview wheeling/water fund.

"You stole $2,000,000 from the Oak View Water Fund," resident Blake Trail told the board during non-agenda public comment, saying the village budget includes $2,000,000 for water-main upgrades that, he said, would not benefit Oakview residents because the village had previously taken the money into the general fund.

The complaint continued in a sustained public comment by Susan Sorrell, who told the board Oakview residents were omitted from the agenda and repeated claims that the village had given Illinois American Water rights to install mains on private property without village easements. "How do you have a right of way when you don't even have village easement in our neighborhood?" Sorrell asked, adding that license agreements showed Illinois American needed permission to walk on private property because, she said, the company does not own the mains.

Why this matters: residents asserted the village has reassigned a fund they say had been held to support the Oakview system, and they threatened deannexation and lawsuits if the village does not address ownership and easement questions. The remarks prompted trustees to reiterate that the matter will return to the board for further review and that staff and legal counsel will be asked to provide formal analysis.

Trustee Saima, responding later in the meeting during trustee reports, said she had researched the legal record and noted there is no recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that resolves the question; rather, she said, a petition for writ of certiorari had been denied and that Illinois Supreme Court precedent remains the controlling law. "There is not a United States Supreme Court opinion," Saima said, and she added a legal opinion requested from village counsel will be forthcoming. Trustee Lesniak told residents the issue "will be coming back to the board" for further discussion.

What was raised and what was not decided: residents alleged the village deposited wheeling fund money into the general fund in 2017, questioned permits and easements granted to Illinois American Water, and said residents had signed short-term license agreements allowing access. No formal board action or vote addressing ownership, deed transfers, deannexation, or sale to Illinois American Water occurred at the meeting. Several trustees said staff and legal counsel will return with analysis.

Clarifying details captured in public comment: residents cited a $2,000,000 sum they say was removed from the Oakview wheeling/water fund; they described prior wheeling agreements and license agreements allowing access by Illinois American Water; they said certain mains were installed across private front yards rather than within a recorded village easement; and they asserted deannexation would yield an average tax savings of about $1,000 per year for affected properties (as characterized by a speaker). The precise legal status of the mains, the content of deeds or plats, and the village's prior permits were described by speakers as the subject of FOIA results but were not resolved at the meeting.

What the board said it will do next: trustees said they will seek a written legal opinion and bring the matter back for formal consideration. No timetable was set at the meeting.