Freedom and Property Rights Assaulted in Downers Grove, IL
“I thought this was supposed to be a free country”
When Richard and Corinne Rekash landscaped their back yard and put up a small religious statue in July 2004, they had no idea it would spark a three-year court battle.
However, that's exactly what has happened.
A few months after the Rekashes completed their landscaping project, the Village of Downers Grove received a complaint from the Rekashes' neighbors. The Village stepped in soon afterward with demands about what the Rekashes should do with their own property, sidestepping mention of the statue and fabricating another problem. More specifically, the Village's letter stated the Rekashes needed to restore their backyard to its original condition because of storm drainage issues the new landscaping was supposedly creating.
The Rekashes, however, say otherwise:
"We had pictures of this area showing that there was a water problem before our landscaping," they wrote in a letter to the Sam Adams Alliance.
This was only the beginning of the property rights infringement problem, unfortunately. A year later, Richard and Corinne received a citation to appear in court, were fined $100, and were told to find a solution to the so-called drainage issues, which they did. They met with Village Engineer Alicia Humphries, who approved their proposed solution and granted a work permit accordingly.
However, another year later-this brings us to July 2006-the Rekashes received a letter from a code enforcement officer saying that the work done did not correct the drainage issues as directed by the court and by the Village of Downers Grove. (In other words, the statue was still in place.) Despite submitting relevant documentation of their work to solve the issue, they received another citation and headed back to court in October.
There, the Rekashes received another order for more work to fix the drainage problem, but-this is the real kicker-the Village of Downers Grove refused to give them a work permit to do the court-ordered work.
"We have no idea why. We just don't understand," Corinne said. "These people [their neighbors] must have clout somewhere."
The Rekashes fought back with a lawsuit against the Village, but dropped it when the Village finally gave them the permit to do the court-ordered work. However, they have another court date on November 26, and Corinne said they may be forced to resume the lawsuit if there are still problems at that point.
Either way, Illinois property owners should be glad the Rekashes are standing up for freedom.
"If this had happened to someone who didn't have a strong will to fight, the village would just allow our neighbors to dictate what happens on our property," Corinne said.
And despite the fact that the Village of Downers Grove is trampling freedom and property rights by making demands about what should be done to the Rekashes' own property, the Rekashes have been incredibly cooperative in working to fix the supposed storm drainage problems, only to be rewarded with more citations and fines.
"If you can't do that [make improvements on your own property], what can you do?" Corinne said. "I thought this was supposed to be a free country."
In a press release sent out earlier this year, the Rekashes invited citizens who care about defending freedom and property rights to stand up and speak out against this action by the Village. To view the contact information of the mayor of Downers Grover and the Board of Commissioners, click here.
Stay tuned for updates.
