Aurora Beacon-News
February 9, 2002

We are writing regarding the outer belt, proposed for Kendall and southern Kane counties. We attended a town meeting in Big Rock in December, and after the completion of all the testimonies, saw the repercussions and heartache of those in attendance.

  I have lived through the division of farmland when Illinois decided to make Farnsworth Avenue continue north across Butterfield Road and produce Kirk Road. Not only did it divide a close relative's farm, along with many of the neighbors farms that had been generating a decent income for them, but it caused one of the top "most dangerous intersections in Illinois."

  Farmland is a precious commodity that should be looked at as a "fruitful, vital necessity" to feed our nation. What happens when it is all gone? So many communities are building, building, building and not giving a thought to where we will all get our food in the years to come. Leave the farmers alone. It is hard enough with the price of grain fluctuating, leaving some farmers taking a loss on their long hours of tilling the soil. Destroying, dividing and killing our farmland with "progress" makes no sense.

  Put the (questionable) outer belt in the path of existing highways (Route 47), instead of trying to ruin what we as a population need to help put food on the table, our farmland. Please stand against the outer beltway!

William and Barbara Dunkin
Big Rock