Fearing a massive loss of jobs, Hoffman Estates officials passed a resolution Monday reaffirming their commitment to keeping Sears corporate headquarters in the village, but not without continued backlash from a nearby school district community.

“It would be devastating to the entire state of Illinois…if Sears were to leave,” Village President Bill McLeod said before the board unanimously approved a resolution, stating the village and state will “take all reasonable efforts to retain Sears Holdings Corporation.”

Sears is considering moving its corporate headquarters from Hoffman Estates once a more than 20-year Economic Development Agreement expires next year. Ohio, Texas and other states are courting the retail company to move.

To help keep Sears and its more than 6,000 employees in the village, local officials and state legislators are trying to extend the agreement another 15 years. A bill that could come up during the Illinois Legislature’s veto session later this month, would extend the EDA, guaranteeing at least 4,000 of those jobs would remain at the Hoffman Estates headquarters.

Once again, Community Unit School District 300 officials, teachers, parents and students, pleaded with Hoffman Estates officials to end their quest to renew the EDA, saying it’s keeping millions of dollars in property taxes from their struggling schools, which serve several suburbs northwest of the village.

An EDA is similar to a Tax Increment Financing District in that it diverts property tax revenue from taxing bodies, like school districts, to a fund to pay for development for the area and to Sears. District 300 has been the most vocal in their opposition to the Sears EDA.

About 30 people came to Village Hall Monday, some wearing T-shirts with slogans like, “No way EDA,” and questioned the board’s motivation to keep Sears in the area. At times they shouted out, “You guys are taking our tax dollars,” and “You don’t care,” at the board.

Monday was a repeat of last week’s meeting when even more school district supporters, donning T-shirts and carrying signs, voiced their disapproval of the village’s intentions.

But, Hoffman Estates resident and former Park Board member Robert Steinberg offered a different perspective Monday night. He told school district supporters they were talking to the wrong people.

“You should be battling Springfield,” he told District 300 officials and parents.

Steinberg said he isn’t necessarily in support of extending the EDA because it keeps money from the Park District, but he’s concerned about the aftermath if Sears left.

“I’m as passionate about the Park District as they are about their school district,” he said. “But, you can’t just be glib about it. We have no other choice but to negotiate a new EDA. (Losing jobs) would be bad for more than Hoffman Estates.”

District 300 Superintendent Michael Bregy once again spoke Monday night to the board, saying the village wants to renew the EDA to use funds to support the nearby Sears Centre Arena – a sports and entertainment venue the village took over about two years ago.

By extending the EDA “you have a way to pay for the Sears Centre on the backs of (the District 300 community),” he told the board. “Come to the table and negotiate with 21,000 students.”

Danielle Mountain, a junior at Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville, told village officials how her AP English class has nearly 50 students, and how her school no longer can afford to have a speech team, among other clubs.

“Our extracurriculars are suffering; our education is suffering,” she said. “I ask you to look outside the quality of Hoffman Estates taxpayers…and to look at the quality of everyone. We have no money.”

Although District 300 is one of the taxing bodies within the EDA, located near Route 59 and Interstate 90, there are no residents who live in that area and therefore no Hoffman Estates students attend those schools.

Hoffman Estates officials dispute many of the school district’s claims that their intentions aren’t genuine, and that they aren’t transparent.

McLeod and others said they have to think of their own taxpayers, as well as the good of the region and the state in their support of extending the EDA.

“Many other states…are offering (Sears) tax incentives to relocate,” said Village Attorney Arthur Janura. “By extending the EDA, we can ensure 4,000 jobs remain at Sears headquarters facilities for the next 15 years.”

“There are no residential units, no students and no District 300 facilities located in this area, yet District 300 wants the Hoffman Estates taxpayers to risk the economic stability of our village in order to provide them extra funds,” he added.

Trustee Karen Mills said if Sears were to leave and become a distressed property, the school district would suffer like the village and the region.