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Grand Prize - Raymond Silva Foggy Cornfield South of Plano

What We'd Lose - Prairie Parkway Photo Contest Winners Grand Prize -Raymond Silva, Yorkville First Place, Agriculture - John Farrell, Batavia First Place, Environment - Joan Soltwisch, Minooka First Place, Rural Life - Raymond Silva, Yorkville First Place, Youth - Brianna Yepsen, Newark Honorable Mention - Kimberly Strom, DeKalb View winning images

Call it "Hastert's Folly" Wikipedia's Definition:  In architecture, a folly is an extravagant, frivolous or fanciful structure. The state has trimmed the Prairie Parkway to just over 5 miles in length in its proposed six-year highway construction program.  It's $243 million price tag will exhaust the federal funds earmarked by Rep. Dennis Hastert -- and soak up $40 million in state funds as well. The 2008-2013 program has drastically shrunk the Prairie Parkway to just a 5-mile section from Illinois 71 to U.S. 34 between Yorkville and Plano.  A year ago, the state thought the money would build a 12-mile section of the freeway from Illinois 71 south of Yorkville to U. S. 30 in Big Rock. If the state and Rep. Hastert have their way, we end up with a five-mile long "Hastert's Folly" instead of investing in the current highway infrastructure by adding lanes to Illinois 47 and improving other existing roads.

Proposed Prairie Parkway "Short Line"

11 Groups Join in Prairie Parkway Opposition Eleven  environmental and public interest groups -- including Citizens Against the Sprawlway -- have announced their united opposition to the Prairie Parkway, citing the state's finding of "quite small" benefits as not warranting the $1 billion cost and the significant environmental damage resulting from building the highway between I-80 and I-88 in Kane, Kendall, and Grundy counties. News Release on Opposition and Comment Summary Read DEIS Comments - Adobe Acrobat format (pdf) Read Comments Submitted by Individuals We've Got a Better Idea IDOT has already focused on the Prairie Parkway, a 35-mile expressway connecting I-88 and I-80. In July 2002 IDOT formally restricted property rights along the 35-mile route, and former Transportation Secretary Tim Martin proclaimed the Prairie Parkway to be one of the three top priority projects for federal funding. We've got a better idea. IDOT's study shows that the area has diverse traffic problems increasing over the next 25 years. Those diverse problems call for diverse solutions. These solutions include improvements to existing state and county highways as well as new connections to improve traffic flow through the area. A single freeway project from I-80 to I-88 doesn't meet the needs of the three-county area. And its consequences - loss of farmland, impact on the environment, and accelerating sprawl - are too great. IDOT needs to get the message: Spend our tax dollars to fix, improve, and expand existing roads. We don't want a "one-size-fits-all" freeway that will open up more areas for sprawl without meeting our local travel needs. IDOT survey: Most residents prefer improving existing roads and better planning over a new freeway In late 2004 IDOT surveyed 1,000 motorists and found that 72 percent favored improving and connecting exsiting roads and better planning while just 10 percent called for a new freeway when asked for top two solutions for traffic problems in Kane, Kendall, Grundy, and adjoining counties. More details on survey IDOT web site: Report on survey results Survey results in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format More links Prairie Parkway Corridor Details and Map Dennis Hastert's New Rural Sanctuary Stop 158 - A web site opposing a beltway through rural areas in Illinois near St. Louis.

Subscribe to Sprawlway e-mail list 47+ Coalition Seeks Sensible Highway Solutions Citizens Against the Sprawlway has joined 10 other groups in the 47+ Coalition to promote improvements to Illinois  47 and the local highway infrastructure. The coalition has urged IDOT to reopen its Prairie Parkway study to include Illinois 47, the first step to tapping up to $207 million in federal funds for expanding Illinois 47 instead of building the Prairie Parkway. 47+ web site - Coalition Letter to IDOT Kaneville, Big Rock Vote 'No' on Prairie Parkway Voters in Kaneville and Big Rock townships sent a strong, clear message in the April 17 advisory referendum that they don't see the proposed Prairie Parkway as a solution for traffic problems in the area.  In Kaneville Township, the vote was 81 percent opposed to the $1 billion highway, and, in Big Rock Township, the margin was even greater, with 88 percent opposed to the project. Ironically, IDOT ignored both the Big Rock and Kaneville communities in its Draft Environmental Impact Statement issued in late November.  Repeatedly, throughout the document, IDOT refers to "five" municipalities in the Prairie Parkway area - Morris, Minooka, Yorkville, Plano, and Sugar Grove. Gov. Blagojevich says Prairie Parkway is not a "priority" for him See full comments in Lynn Sweet's Sun-Times Column  Hastert's $2 million profit from land deals In December 2005, just five months after he secured $207 million in federal funds for the Prairie Parkway, House Speaker Dennis Hastert sold 138 acres of land near the highway route, netting him a $2 million profit on land held for three years or less.  See additional details in Prairie Parkway News Coverage and in a Report prepared by the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington DC based Congressional watchdog organization. Another watchdog group on Nov. 27 called for a Department of Justice investigation of Hastert's land dealings and highway "earmarks." See the details at the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington website. In its Fall 2006 issue, Chicago Wilderness magazine published a special report on the environmental threat of new highways, focusing on the Prairie Parkway. Read online at Chicago Wilderness Magazine website Download pdf version of article Friends of the Fox River: "This area is rich in beautiful, diverse natural resources. Our best efforts are needed to preserve and protect them." See the full article on the Prairie Parkway's threat to the area's pristine streams in the organization's Riffle Newsletter, Fall 2005 issue