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Officials in Dolton, Ill., called the purchase a rare opportunity. But some residents questioned whether the village, grappling with a deficit and potholes, could afford it.
July 2, 2025, 7:24 p.m. ET
The Chicago suburb where the first American pope grew up will buy the boyhood home of Leo XIV, which local officials have been looking to preserve as a landmark since the pontiff’s election in May.
In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Board of Trustees in Dolton, Ill., agreed to acquire the modest three-bedroom house on East 141st Place — about 20 miles south of downtown Chicago — for a yet-to-be-determined amount.
Officials said that the village should not pass up the rare chance to own the property, which was put up for auction online with a reserve price of $250,000 around the time of Leo XIV’s installation.
“I will say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Jason M. House, the mayor of Dolton, told the trustees during a meeting with the board. “We can either seize this moment and move it forward, or we can let that moment go to an investor.”
But some people in Dolton, which has grappled with deficits, potholes and the scrutiny of an F.B.I. investigation over spending by a former mayor, questioned whether the village could afford the purchase.
“Do we have the money?” Mary Avent, a resident, asked the board. She also wondered how much property maintenance would cost.
