TOWN Case Histories - Ray Bradbury's Ravines
South Genesee Street

Spanning South Genesee Street in downtown Waukegan, a few blocks from a newly restored theatre designed to be a catalyst for redevelopment, two large ravines of the Waukegan River were strewn with garbage and debris. The piles of trash cascading down the slopes-sofas and other furniture, discarded computer equipment, bags of soiled clothing, rusted shopping carts, worn-out tires, etc.-revealed that these once-beautiful ravines, immortalized in the works of Waukegan's own Ray Bradbury, had become repositories for illegal dumping.

To rescue the ravines and support downtown redevelopment, TOWN brought four suits on behalf of the owner of a nearby commercial building to compel the owners of these ravine parcels to clean up the garbage and debris. While researching title, TOWN discovered that one parcel was to have been conveyed to the City of Waukegan years ago, and although the city was paying taxes on this parcel, no deed to the city had ever been recorded. Negotiating with the owner and the city, TOWN was able to obtain this neglected deed and cause the completion of the intended conveyance, transferring responsibility for this parcel to the city.

The other three ravine parcels, owned by an out-of-town trust, became the subject of further negotiations. TOWN was able to work out an agreed order entered by the court, which recognized that the owner had made efforts to clean up these sections of the ravines in response to the suits, but that illegal dumping was a continuing problem. The court empowered the plaintiff to demand that new deposits of garbage and debris be cleaned up within sixty days of notice to the owner and authorized additional legal action if the demand was not met. TOWN continues to monitor these ravines to protect them from illegal dumping.

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