Palatine Stables supporters taking fight to court

The Palatine Park District is facing a legal challenge to its decision to close the Palatine Stables.

A member of a group dedicated to saving Palatine Stables has filed a suit seeking a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order against the park district.

Palatine resident Jenny Yocum said the suit aims to void the park board’s May 13 vote to close the stables by Nov. 30. It would also stop the park district from moving ahead with plans to close the facility, located near Northwest Highway and Dundee Road.

The suit claims the board failed to provide adequate notice of the final action and did not allow for public input.

The suit notes the May 13 agenda item under new business is listed as “Review of Stables condition.”

“The line item is devoid of any language that indicates that the board would be taking a vote or entertaining any final action on the stables,” the suit states.

In a separate action, another member of the group, Palatine resident Elle Haferkamp, has lodged a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General, claiming the park board violated the Open Meetings Act.

“There are no agenda items mentioning the possible permanent closure of this multimillion dollar publicly-owned facility,” she wrote.

Both Yocum and Haferkamp said the group has been frustrated at attempts to communicate with the park district in the wake of the decision.

The group has submitted a petition, sent emails to the park board and flooded the last two board meetings with public comment. The legal action, they said, amounts to the only way they can make their voice heard.

“We feel that the whole situation was handled unfairly by the park district,” said Haferkamp, who used the facility as a child and is a horse boarder currently. “It all feels very rushed.”

“I’m doing this because we all need to have a voice,” said Yocum, who has been involved with the stables for more than 20 years. “The commissioners are not willing to communicate with us.”

Built in the 1950s, the facility was privately owned until the park district acquired the nearly 9-acre site in 1988. In addition to boarding horses, the stables offer horse care, lessons, therapeutic riding and other programs.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that we have to sue our own park district for them to communicate with us,” Palatine resident Jamie Berger, another member of the group, said.

Park District Executive Director Ben Rea said he could not comment on pending litigation.