Oak Brook Citizens Sue Village to Enforce Zoning Regulations of the Oak Brook Sports Core

On July 23, 2025, a group of Oak Brook residents sued the Village of Oak Brook. The group, incorporated as “Friends of Oak Brook Sports Core, Inc.” seeks to stop a large for-profit catering business called Chic Chef from operating at the Oak Brook Bath & Tennis Clubhouse. Chic Chef is owned by Ravi Jayara. FOBSC’s lawsuit seeks to enforce the 1977 deed to the Sports Core, Oak Brook zoning regulations and Illinois municipal law.

FOBSC is funded by Oak Brook residents. The FOBSC website (FOBSC.org) states that FOBSC has hundreds of supporters. Over 860 Oak Brook residents have signed a petition on change.org entitled “Stop Commercial Development of Oak Brook Clubhouse.”

“We value the open land purchased by the people of the village in 1977,” says FOBSC president Karen Bushy. “We believe the land should remain in perpetuity for the purposes expressed in the 1977 deed. Enabling private commercial use of the Oak Brook Sports Core would open the floodgates to future development of our beautiful open green space.”

“There are four main legal issues here,” says FOBSC officer Anne Huber. “The first is property taxes. I’ve been told the village failed to notify the York Township Assessor of the fact that the village is using tax exempt land to prop up a private business. Due to this omission, the assessor now has statutory authority to terminate the tax exempt status of the entire sports core. Village leadership created this risk by its own actions.”

“Regardless of what the assessor does, Chic Chef avoids paying property taxes on its business run at the OBBT Clubhouse,” Huber says. “Chic Chef is paying nothing to the Oak Brook Park District, Butler School District 53 and other agencies listed on residents’ tax bills. That’s just not right.”

“The second issue is the deed, which specifies what can and cannot be done on Sports Core property,” Huber continues. “A for-profit banquet hall open to the general public violates the deed.”

“The third problem is zoning. The Sports Core is zoned Conservation/Recreation. A catering business cannot operate in a CR Zone. The Oak Brook Municipal Code specifies permitted uses and special uses in every zone throughout the village. A catering business is permitted only in a B-3 general business district,” Huber said. “A catering business is not a permitted or accessory use in a CR zone.”

“The fourth problem is corporate authority. Although the Chic Chef agreement is captioned ‘License’, it functions as a lease. Illinois municipal law requires that 75% of corporate authorities approve a lease of public land. That threshold has not been met. This means that the village manager is not authorized to execute the agreement,” Huber says.

“Separate from the legal issues, Oak Brook residents lose a lot under the proposal with Chic Chef,” says Bushy. “If the court allows this to continue, Oak Brook residents lose the ability to use the OBBT Clubhouse as originally intended. The building and its surrounding area will be operated by a business to the exclusion of Oak Brook residents. It appears the Village can use the building during specified hours, but the people are effectively shut out. We residents will have to get in line with everybody else. We will have to pay the same cost as nonresidents for weekend events. It won’t be our clubhouse anymore.”

The Village has not yet filed an answer to the FOBSC complaint. In the July/August/September “MyOakBrook” newsletter, the Village implies that it intends to continue to pursue an arrangement with Chic Chef as operator of the OBBT Clubhouse.

The Village executed a three-year agreement with Chic Chef Catering, Inc. on December 13, 2023. Chic Chef can extend the 2023 agreement by two 2-year extensions, for a total of seven years. Chic Chef took possession of the OBBT Clubhouse on February 1, 2024. The FOBSC lawsuit claims the 2023 Chic Chef agreement is void ab initio.

Since 2023, the Village and Chic Chef negotiated a 20-year agreement with a five-year extension. The latest proposal would enable Mr. Jayara and his investors (two of whom were named at the June 10 Village Board meeting) to construct a stark white banquet hall where the OBBT Clubhouse now stands. At the July 23, 2025 Village Board meeting, trustees Manzo, Martin and Reddy voted in favor of the 20-year Chic Chef proposal. Trustees Tiesenga, Nagle and Jain voted against the deal. President Herman voted in favor.
However, Village Clerk Netasha Scarpiniti states that the 20-year Chic Chef agreement has not yet been executed. As of today’s date, Chic Chef has not submitted its final construction design. Under the 20-year proposal discussed at the July 23, 2025 meeting, the Village Board must approve Chic Chef’s “Final Design” at an upcoming village meeting. The next Village Board meeting is September 23 at 7 pm.

If the new 20-year proposal is executed, it will be challenged by FOBSC. “The proposed long-term construction lease is illicit for the same four reasons,” Huber says. “Oak Brook citizens will not sit back and allow a private corporation to take over our clubhouse.”