“Controlling” Keith Ogle's claims about mismanagement of civic infrastructure don't hold water

MEDIA ADVISORY

For more information contact:

Tom Witschy (708)-280-0559

For Immediate Release

Breaking: Ogle forces coalition of residents, civic leaders and Frankfort business owners to expose truth about Mayor's hiding critical information from trustees and mismanagement of civic infrastructure in intentional blocking of needed decades-in-the-making 55+ accessible housing

(Frankfort, Illinois) LFI Real Estate, led by Mike Rose, who moved to Frankfort 30 years ago with his wife Lindy and their two boys –is being supported by fellow Frankfort business leaders, residents and others in a clarion call for fairness, inclusiveness and fair governance over apparent opposition to the decades-old Gardens of Frankfort plan submitted by the Roses that would develop a new manufactured housing community for residents 55+ in unincorporated Frankfort. The above-mentioned coalition of leaders are alleging that Frankfort Mayor Keith Ogle has engaged in discrimination tactics to halt plans that would expand quality, efficiency, and much needed housing to the area especially for residents aged 55 and up.

Though there are more than 8 million manufactured homes across the country, very few are considered A+ like Gateway Manufactured Housing Community, the only manufactured housing Mike Rose has ever been involved with. “The goal has always been to exceed the very high standard set by the Gateway development,” said Mike Rose. Hall of Fame football coach of Frankfort’s Lincoln-Way East High School Rob Zvonar stated,“I am confident that anything the Rose Family would bring to our community would only enhance the great place in which we live.”

In spite of a Will County Court ruling in 2003 granting the Gardens of Frankfort its zoning for a manufactured housing community, when the Roses met with Mayor Keith Ogle in 2021, he signalled support that never materialized. As of 2025, the Gardens of Frankfort development remains to have been brought before the Board of Trustees for approval, having taken three and a half years to commission and deliver a sanitary sewer and water report, proceeded by other delay tactics. Based on the behavior of individual Trustees and other evidence, it would appear that Ogle intentionally misrepresented the facts of the matter to the Board of Trustees.

This is a pattern of behavior consistent with the experiences of other applicants with business with Mayor Keith Ogle. There are numerous business leaders who share the Roses challenges with Mayor Ogle as it relates to transparency and engagement. The values for which Frankfort is known appear to be in jeopardy to many aware Frankfort residents, including the business community, who now have a much more critical view of the culture at Village Hall.

The Village of Frankfort has cited systemic shortcomings with their sewer and water systems. Yet, during this same period, permits for other developments have been approved that are less beneficial to Frankfort’s elderly and Veteran residents. Are villages allowed to discriminate in this Fashion The Village of Frankfort, under Ogle’s stewardship, has unjustly prevented a fair hearing on the Gardens of Frankfort development. To that effect, the village commissioned a sanitary sewer study in 2024- three years after Keith Ogle expressed he would not be an impediment to the Roses’ project- that effectively showed the sewer systems operating in the basins of southern Frankfort to be exceeding capacity or risking failure in the event of a major storm. Steve Gutschenritter, a Senior Engineer at BSI Engineering with a degree in Engineering from Notre Dame (‘77) and ~40-year Frankfort resident, stated, “After reviewing the Jackson Creek lift station report from the Village of Frankfort, I believe the village has spent way too much of its resources in the wrong areas. It really needs to be spent to maintain and improve our sewer and water, before some of the other items we are spending on. This looks like a case of misplaced priorities for the village, at the least. It’s past time that this needs to be addressed - now is a better time than later.” These sentiments have been privately voiced by many other Frankfort residents and businesses who have not yet gone on the record, some for fear of retribution. Frankfort residents will have more options to better accommodate their lifestyles and financial realities, particularly those who want to downsize, remain in the community and/or seek mobility accessible housing. “Having a quality option for all of our beloved grandparents, our veterans, and other residents aged 55 and up in the Frankfort market opens up much needed single family homes for the younger generation. This will keep Frankfort vibrant and growing” says Mike Rose. Mike Rose has a long history of property development in Frankfort, including the Walgreens on Wolf Rd. “Gateway is a testament to what an asset the Gardens of Frankfort will be to the community,” said Rose,“The Gardens of Frankfort is a substitute for state and federally mandated subsidized housing in Frankfort in the future.”

Photo: Aerial view of Gateway Housing Development, the pioneering first development in the area. Taken prior to Gateway being compelled to connect to municipal water and sewer. View Looking West towards La Grange Rd and Steger Rd. Intersection. Photograph by Mike Rose.

Photo: (Left to Right) Lloyd Rose, first string All-State Basketball Center, favorite uncle to Mike Rose and great-uncle to Dan Rose, Marine Corps Veteran and longtime resident of Gateway. Mike Rose and Allen Rose (seated), father of Mike Rose and grandfather of Dan Rose.