Development debate takes center stage in Frankfort mayoral race

FRANKFORT, Ill. - On the eve of Election Day, the mayoral race in the Village of Frankfort heating up. Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to grant their current mayor another term or elect a challenger with business ties to the community.

What we know:

Mayor Keith Ogle, who has been involved in village government for nearly two decades, is wrapping up his first term and seeking reelection.

"People have really asked us to keep Frankfort, Frankfort," Ogle said. "There’s something really special and rare about this community."

His opponent, Justin Ozinga, is co-owner and executive of Ozinga Brothers, Inc., a fifth-generation family-owned cement and concrete manufacturing company.

"If I’m honored to be elected the mayor, I can’t wait to serve and just do wonderful things for this community," Ozinga said.

Emerging as a key sticking point in the race is village development; particularly, a proposed affordable housing project for residents 55 and older.

The property falls within Green Garden Township, not the village of Frankfort, but could require village utility connections.

Dubbed ‘The Gardens of Frankfort,’ the manufactured home community would be built on 64 acres of land near La Grange and Steger roads—across the street from the similar ‘Gateway’ development.

What they're saying:

Mayor Ogle opposes the development, arguing that Frankfort does not have the water and sewer capacity to support it.

"We studied the capacity issues there and there’s strong concerns. Our engineering firm and our utility director said we don’t have the capacity to connect them at this point," Ogle said. "Our board has unanimously voted that they’re not interested in connecting this, because it will cause problems for our residents, and we have no obligation to do a connection for somebody who’s not even here. They’re not contiguous—they couldn’t even be annexed in."

Ozinga supports the project and has criticized how it was handled, saying the village has not been transparent with residents.

"And that happens a lot in this town—many projects, including one of my own, where it never even got to the trustees and it was simply made at an executive level that, ‘we don’t want this for this town,’" Ozinga said. "Whether or not the town, the residents, want ‘The Gardens of Frankfort,’ that's beside the point. The point is, everything should be on the table, very transparent. It needs to be talked about, we need to hear everyone’s voice."

The development, spearheaded by LFI Real Estate, was decades in the making before it was put on hold.

Now, the property owner—Naperville 2 LLC—is suing the village and asking for a judge to make the decision instead.

The lawsuit was filed in Will County Circuit Court last Wednesday and an initial case management hearing has been set for July 14 at 9:15 a.m.

What's next:

Polls will open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7 p.m.

Results are expected later in the evening.                  

Illinois residents can locate their polling place through the Board of Elections website.