Citizens Against the Sprawlway

Primary election results decisive for Prairie Parkway opposition

The Feb. 2 primary election results were decisive on the issue of the Prairie Parkway, particularly at the Congressional level.

In the Republican primary for 14th Congressional District, Randy Hultgren, a Prairie Parkway opponent, defeated Dennis Hastert's son, Ethan. Although it was not a prominent issue in the campaign, Hultgren opposes the Prairie Parkway while Hastert, not surprisingly, considered the project a settled issue. Hultgren attended the 'Stop the Beltway' picnic in August and signed the petition to Gov. Quinn asking him to terminate the Prairie Parkway project.

Congressman Bill Foster was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Hultgren's win means that both candidates in the fall are opposed to the Prairie Parkway -- both the current proposal and any future federal funding.

State Sen. Chris Lauzen, who has opposed the Prairie Parkway from the beginning, defeated Sugar Grove Mayor Sean Michels in the Republican primary for the state senate. Michels has actively promoted the Prairie Parkway and, as mayor, presided over aggressive development in Sugar Grove.

IDOT Cuts Most Planned Funds for Prairie Parkway

llinois Department of Transportation has quietly removed most funding for the proposed Prairie Parkway from its six-year Highway Improvement Program including all money designated to begin actual construction. It has also modestly increased the planned funding for Illinois 47 widening from south of Yorkville to Sugar Grove.

Meanwhile, Congressman Bill Foster is readying legislation for shift federal funds designated for the Prairie Parkway to improvements and expansion of Illinois 47 between I-80 and I-88. The 2005 federal transportation bill included earmarks totaling $207 million for the proposed Prairie Parkway -- which carries a total cost of about $1 billion. According to IDOT, about $37 million of the federal earmarks has been spent for land acquisition and engineering as of April of this year.

According to a May 20, 2009, Daily Herald story:

"The state's plan did not identify money for two significant suburban projects - extending Route 53 north of Lake Cook Road and the Prairie Parkway, which would stretch from I-88 to I-80 in Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties.

"Concerning the Prairie Parkway, [IDOT Secretary Gary] Hannig noted that "it is a growing area and there's a lot of congestion. There needs to be some solution to the problem."

"But because of litigation and lack of a local consensus, IDOT is holding back on funding."

The Highway Improvement Program, updated each year, is the budget blueprint for highway projects in the next six years.

The 2010-2015 Highway Improvement Program, announced May 20, includes just $2.4 million for preliminary engineering and land acquisition for the Prairie Parkway in Fiscal Year 2010 which begins July 1, 2009. All construction funding has been omitted.

The previous year's highway improvement program included $207.5 million for the Prairie Parkway -- $16 million for land acquisition in FY 2009 and the rest for engineering and construction in the future.

After the Illinois General Assembly approved a new $31 billion capital projects program, in August IDOT added $45 million in the Highway Improvement Program to add lanes to Illinois 47 for three miles from Illinois 71 to US 34 in Yorkville.

Lawsuit challenges federal approval of Prairie Parkway Project

Friends of the Fox River and Citizens Against the Sprawlway filed a lawsuit on March 25, 2009 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago against the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for violating Federal law in how it approved the Prairie Parkway project.

See lawsuit against Federal Highway Administration

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 2006 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.

Five Townships Vote 'No' on Prairie Parkway
Voters in three Kendall County townships - Fox, Lisbon, and Seward - voted against the the proposed Prairie Parkway in the February 5 primary election. These three rural townships would be most affected by the proposed 37-mile freeway from I-80 to I-88. 72 percent of Lisbon voters, 65 percent of Fox voters and 58 percent of Seward voters said they oppose the construction of the proposed $1 billion freeway. The advisory referenda send a clear message to Illinois legislators.

In April 2007 voters in two Kane County townships to the north strongly rejected the Prairie Parkway. In Big Rock Township the vote was 88 percent against the proposed freeway and in Kaneville Township 81 percent voted their opposition.

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47+ Coalition Seeks Sensible Highway Solutions

Citizens Against the Sprawlway has joined 12 other groups in the 47+ Coalition to promote improvements to Illinois 47 and the local highway infrastructure.

47+ web site - Coalition Letter to IDOT

In its Fall 2006 issue, Chicago Wilderness magazine published a special report on the environmental threat of new highways, focusing on the Prairie Parkway.

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