Marengo nuns have yet to move forward with construction plans OK’d by judge after yearslong lawsuit

A group of nuns have yet to move forward with plans to build a boarding school, brewery, winery and gift shop on their property in unincorporated Marengo, despite being given the green light to do so when they won a lawsuit against McHenry County in the spring.

In March, U.S. Magistrate Judge Iain Johnston ruled in favor of Fraternite Notre Dame on a 2015 federal lawsuit filed against the McHenry County Board alleging that its denial of the development proposal was religious discrimination.

“Judge Johnston issued a consent decree basically granting the fraternite much of what they had asked to do, with a few limitations, and since then, we have not heard anything,” McHenry County Planning and Development Director Dennis Sandquist said Thursday.

“They have not been in for any permits,” Sandquist said. “The zoning is basically granted so it would be down to permits.”

Fraternite Notre Dame could not be reached for comment after multiple attempts to contact them in the two weeks leading up to Friday.

While the pandemic could be a factor in their inaction, Sandquist said, construction is one industry that has not been impacted much by COVID-19 shutdowns as it was deemed essential by the governor early on.

Regardless of the reason for the delay, Johnston’s decree stipulates that the fraternite is not required to begin construction in any specific time period for the decision to hold.

The Shrine of the Ecce Homo is the Marengo chapter of the Fraternite Notre Dame, a religious organization founded in 1977 by French Bishop Jean Marie. The order identifies as Catholic, but it is not recognized by the Vatican.

The shrine is located at 10002 Harmony Hill Road in unincorporated Marengo, just south of the towns of Union and Marengo.

The planned boarding school would have a maximum enrollment of 80 students, according to reporting by the Northwest Herald. The proposed building would be three stories, with a total footprint of no more than 28,000 square feet.

The gift shop would be designed for the sale of pastries, religious literature as well as wine and beer produced on the premises.

The tasting of beer or wine would be allowed at the gift shop, but the only after the order obtained the necessary local and state liquor licenses, according to the consent decree. The gift shop space would be a maximum of 5,000 square feet.

Beginning construction on both projects at once would be a large undertaking, and so Sandquist said he presumes the developments will begin gradually.

“I’m not necessarily expecting to see anything soon,” he said. “I think this is all kind of long-term plans.”