Billionaire's Beach Blockage Ignites Dispute Over Trespassing, Public Land In Winnetka

WINNETKA, IL — Village officials offered to dismiss a citation against a prominent local advocate of public beach accused of trespassing on a billionaire's lakefront property, but only if he promises not to return in writing.

Ted Wynnychenko, a Winnetka resident and anesthesiologist, was issued a citation by Winnetka police for allegedly trespassing on the Sheridan Road property where Justin Ishbia is building the most expensive house in state history.

"For me, this was a huge impact. I feel that this charge is completely without merit," Wynnychenko told Patch. "I was never on any private land, I never trespassed."

According to police reports, the construction project manager for Ishbia's mansion called police on June 11 to report Wynnychenko had entered the construction site two days earlier.

Police reviewed footage from security cameras and saw Wynnychenko go through a fence and "walk along the rocks and waterline of the property taking multiple photographs."

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On June 20, Ishbia representative David Williams signed a local ordinance citation. Officers presented it to Wynnychenko, who refused to sign it.

The next day, Wynnychenko came to the police station, reviewed the footage with officers and explained that he was on public property at the time — either within the waters or on land that had been reclaimed from the Lake Michigan bed and is therefore public.

Williams, he said, knew or should have known where the property lines are and accused the billionaire's agent of filing a false police report.

Winnetka police created a disorderly conduct report in response to the allegations, but it is unclear from reports whether anyone investigated it. Deputy Chief Dylan Majcher declined to say whether that investigation is complete or whether police ever actually investigated it.

The ticket issued alleges that Wynnychenko “unlawfully entered and remained within a secured construction site in violation of conspicuously posted signage forbiddin[g] such entry.”

It does not allege he was on private property, only that he was within a “secured construction site."

"And it's not a 'construction area' ordinance, it's a private property trespassing ordinance," Wynnychenko said. "And I was very careful never to be on private land the whole time I was out there."

Under what is known as the Public Trust Doctrine, land under Lake Michigan is public and held in trust by the state, and land created artificially along the lakefront is also public.

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Last week, Wynnychenko made his initial court appearance at the Skokie Courthouse. Since he was issued a local ordinance violation citation, a Winnetka village prosecutor rather than a Cook County assistant state's attorney is in charge of the case.

After discussions between his attorney and the municipal prosecutor, Wynnychenko was told village officials are willing to drop the charges, but they would require something in writing.

"I have to write an agreement the I won't enter the 'construction area,'" Wynnychenko said.

The case was continued until Aug. 22, when it will be dropped if the village finds it acceptable.

"I'm not going to sign a document that says I was on private land, because I wasn't, but the complaint doesn't specifically allege that either," Wynnychenko said.

"If I don't make it clear," he said, "I worry that the village or some other entity will say, 'Well, you admitted you were on private property.'"

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Composed of three combined parcels, the property has been the subject of ongoing controversy stemming from a 2020 land swap deal between Ishbia and the Winnetka Park District.

That deal involved giving Ishbia a portion of the south end of Centennial Beach in exchange for land he owns on the north side of the park, allowing the district to combine Elder Lane and Centennial beaches.

Earlier this year, park district commissioners voted 4-3 to agree to a restrictive covenant with Ishbia in exchange for a $3 million donation to fund beach improvements, but the land swap remains "dormant," according to the billionaire.

A lawsuit from Winnetka resident Robert Schreisheim challenging the swap was initially dismissed in October 2023.

But, earlier this year, a judge rejected a request by the park district's attorneys to toss an amended complaint. The next hearing on the case is scheduled for Aug. 22.

In response to concerns about the impacts of the construction of Ishbia's $77 million house, the Winnetka Village Council has passed ordinances limiting maximum lot consolidations and regulating construction on lake bluffs. Other lakefront residents filed a lawsuit opposing the bluff ordinance, which remains pending.