II. Base Closure

Fort Sheridan was selected for closure in 1988 and officially ceased operations as a U.S. Army installation on May 28, 1993. Of the 714 acres at the base, the U.S. Army has retained two parcels of 114 acres, which continue to serve Army Reserve missions. The Navy purchased 185 acres from the Army for use as military housing and office functions; 415 acres remained as surplus property for disposal by the Army. Of the 415 acres of surplus property, 230 acres comprise the National Historic Landmark District and the remainder is open space. Congress established the process for disposing of the surplus property to fulfill its obligation to preserve the historic resources located at the fort. In 1995, President Clinton signed into law the Military Construction Appropriations Act of 1996, which included under Section 125A the transfer of up to 290 acres to the Lake County Forest Preserve District at no cost, including 60 acres within the National Historic Landmark District. This legislation also permitted the Army to conduct a negotiated sale with a Local Redevel-opment Authority (LRA) for the balance of surplus property and the Historic Landmark District.