Politics & Government
State May Soon Lease Or Purchase L-Way North For Police Training
State Sen. Michael Hastings said he is asking for $122.5M in State funding for the shuttered Lincoln-Way school.
FRANKFORT, IL — Lincoln-Way North High School may soon see life again as an institution for learning, but this time around the building would be used to help train Illinois State Police instead of high schoolers.
State Sen. Michael Hastings has requested the shifting of $122.5 million out of the State's Build Illinois Bond Fund to either purchase or enter into a long-term lease agreement with Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 for the building at 19900 S. Harlem Ave. in Frankfort.
The school is currently being leased by ISP for cadet training that took place Feb. 19 and 20, and another round of testing scheduled for April 9 and 10. Lincoln-Way D210 is not charging ISP for use of the building during that time.
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Hastings said that he, along with the director of ISP, Lincoln-Way D210 Superintendent Scott Tingley and members of the D210 Board of Education have been in conversation about the potential deal. Hastings said that ideally he would like to see a deal get done by June.
Of course, any deal for Lincoln-Way North would have to be approved by the Lincoln-Way D210 Board of Education.
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“The Board of Education is aware of this proposed use of Lincoln-Way North, and any governmental use of the building would be through an intergovernmental agreement that would require Board approval,” said Lincoln-Way D210 Director of Community Relations Jennifer Beshansky. “Any sale of District property would allow the District to pay off long-term debt and would also relieve the carrying cost of the property. The District is not exploring any other potential uses for the building at this time.”
Hastings originally secured the funding in 2020, but the funds were never released and the project to bring multiple State agencies to Lincoln-Way North stalled. Hastings said that although the original plans for a multi-agency center with a state-of-the-art forensics lab fell through, he still feels that the building is well-suited as a testing and training facility for ISP cadets.
Hastings said there is a need to hire approximately 300 ISP officers because of the timing of the retirement of many of the agency’s current officers. The agency also has a program that allows current, experienced local law enforcement officers to transfer into ISP. The training for that program happens in Springfield, and Hastings said making Lincoln-Way North available as a regional training site would help recruit more officers to ISP.
“Ultimately, it’s the school district’s decision, yes,” Hastings said. “But, if I have the opportunity to influence or guide folks into what I think the best use of the facility is, then I’m going to do that. I think we need more law enforcement officials. We need more law enforcement officials to be trained. We need more state troopers. That facility is the equivalent, in my view, of a college campus, and it should be used to help people.”
Hastings acknowledged that there are some people in the community who want to see Lincoln-Way North remain a school, but he stressed that the population projections that helped create the school in 2008 were never realized, and likely would not ever be realized.
“I think that it’s in the best interest of the taxpayer to put that property to use," Hastings said. "It’s already being used, but it’s not being used to the scale for which it could be used for. And that’s why it’s important to me to find the best use for that, or recommend to the school board for them to find the best use for the property.”
Lincoln-Way North is currently being utilized by the Frankfort Square Park District and allows residents to use the exercise facilities. Hastings said any deal for the property would ideally allow residents to continue to be able to use the facilities.
Lincoln-Way North was closed in 2016 after being open for just eight years. The school opened in 2008 after voters approved a $225 million building bond referendum. Lincoln-Way West in New Lenox opened a year later and is still in operation today.
Former Lincoln-Way D210 Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie was indicted in 2017 on charges of wire fraud and embezzlement in relation to accusations of his misusing the District's bond money. Wyllie has had continuous status hearings for his trial delayed because of poor health, the latest being a Jan. 11 hearing being pushed back to April 11, according to court documents.
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