“We
want the Lisle board to take immediate and aggressive action to allow
the revised plan for the redevelopment,” said Brink. “There are very
few people who oppose this development. They [opponents] have used lies
and misinformation to manipulate the system.”

In a letter dated May 25 to Lisle Mayor Joseph Broda, Navistar CEO
Daniel Ustian said opponents were “jeopardizing our image and that of
many innocent people who have advocated for us.”

Navistar decided to walk away from the project in part because an
opponent recently filed a lawsuit and issued about two dozen subpoenas,
many of which “had nothing to do with the zoning process,” said Don
Sharp, Navistar’s vice president and chief information officer.

Navistar officials say they now will look at establishing its
headquarters at previously explored locations in Alabama, Texas and
South Carolina.

The opponents, mostly nearby residents to the former Alcatel-Lucent
campus at 2600 Warrenville Rd., said they have worries about air
pollution, noise, traffic and safety issues.

Navistar, now based about three miles away in Warrenville, has maintained that those fears are unfounded.
 
Resident
Richard Wilki, who lives near the site, said they are not opposed to
the headquarters but a plan to test engines at the campus.

Navistar appeased some opponents, including a nearby school for
autistic children, by scaling back plans for engine testing at the site.

“If this was about six diesel testing cells, the whole deal would be
done by now,” said Wilki. “It’s about Navistar refusing to put in
writing a guarantee to not increase operations back to 66 test cells
once the zoning is approved.”

Wilki also accused pro-Navistar business groups of starting a smear campaign against the residents.

“We are just seeking a fair hearing for the truth,” said Wilki.

Navistar officials, who planned to invest $100 million in the new
campus, had said the move would have generated and preserved more than
7,000 direct and indirect jobs for Lisle and pumped $4.5 million
annually into the local economy. The company had hoped to consolidate
several of its outlying offices at the Lisle site.

Broda apparently has a meeting with Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on
Tuesday to talk about persuading the company to consider relocating to
Lisle again, according to pro-Navistar business groups.

Broda would not answer questions by petitioners during the meeting
about current talks with the company, if any, and quickly left at the
close of the meeting.