Glencoe and county not seeing eye to eye on future of Glencoe Golf Club’s clubhouse

A multi-million dollar investment from Glencoe taxpayers may not be enough to firmly secure the long-term future of the soon-to-be newest addition to the historic Glencoe Golf Club.

Glencoe Village President Howard Roin detailed during the board of trustees’ Thursday, July 18 meeting the ongoing conversations between the village and Cook County regarding the recently approved clubhouse renovation project at Glencoe Golf Club.

During his president’s report, Roin told the community that Glencoe officials are hoping to ensure the longevity of the clubhouse well past the expiration of the village’s lease, which is set to occur in 2049.

Conversations between Glencoe officials and county representatives have failed to reach common ground thus far, leaving Roin and village trustees feeling “very disappointed.”

Plans to renovate the clubhouse inside the Glencoe Golf Club began in April 2023, when Glencoe voters approved a referendum allowing the Village to use up to $15 million in bond sales to fund the project, as previously reported by The Record.

Since voters approved the allocation of funds, estimated project costs have increased to upward of $18 million, The Record reported last month.

Because of the sizable commitment of funds from Glencoe, Roin and town officials hope the future of the newly renovated clubhouse can be solidified for decades to come. But an agreement on the outlook of the clubhouse beyond the next 25 years has yet to be reached between the village and the county.

The Glencoe Golf Club is located half on village-owned land and half on forest preserve land, the latter of which is controlled by Cook County. The portion of the property where the clubhouse is located is forest preserve land, per Roin.

Roin told the community during the July 18 session that village officials have been conducting conversations with Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton — who represents the county’s 14th district, which includes Glencoe — to ensure that the clubhouse will not be removed before the end of its useful life because it is located on county land.

According to Roin, initial discussions explored the possibility of an agreement that would compensate Glencoe if the clubhouse was taken by the county at any point. County officials showed little interest in furthering those conversations, Roin noted.

A second possibility examined an agreement that would extend the lease beyond its current expiration of 2049. But, similarly, county officials did not advance those discussions. The expiration of the lease would nearly coincide with the end of the 20-year bonds that Glencoe residents authorized issuing for the project.

Roin noted near the end of his report that Glencoe officials will be meeting with county representatives on Friday, July 19, when he said he “is going to reiterate what we think is fair.”

“We don’t ask the county for favors,” Roin said. “We don’t ask the county for largess. We don’t think we’re entitled to that. And we recognize that this is a very big county and our citizens are better off than the citizens of other parts of the county. But we’ve stepped up and we’re putting $18 million into this joint asset and we think it would be fair to extend the lease, and so far the county has said no to that.”

Roin noted that because of the 2049 expiration date, there’s still “a lot of time to talk with the county” about reaching an agreement to extend it. But he added that he’s “very disappointed that the county has not been interested in talking to us about what we think is not a gift or favor to us but just something that would be fair in light of the contribution that our citizens have been willing to make.”

Earlier in his report, Roin took a few moments to explain the operational structure of the Glencoe Golf Club.

The golf club is not a revenue source for Glencoe, Roin said, adding that the money that is made in operations “is plowed back into the golf course to make it the magnificent place that it is.”

The club is a joint venture between the village and the county, and Glencoe residents do not get favoritism at the club, per Roin.

“We are citizens of the county, we’re citizens of northern Illinois and everybody is treated the same,” he said.

As part of the conversation with the county on July 19, Glencoe officials planned to discuss design-related adjustments to the footprint of the clubhouse between the old and the new proposed one the village is intending to build.

Roin said that officials have been trying to talk with the county about the issue for months. He called the update a “modest change” in footprint.

He also expressed concerns about how the county will react to the updates.

“We’re going to listen to what they say, we’re going to make our case and then we’ll come back and decide what to do,” he said.

Roin concluded by remarking that Glencoe officials “would like to get going on this project.”

“Our residents have stepped up,” he said.

As previously reported by The Record, the Glencoe Golf Club is a 102-year-old golf course that covers 126 acres. The current clubhouse remains the original building and has for years past its useful life.

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