Message to IDOT: House speaker to ask for corridor down property lines
By Dave Parro
STAFF WRITER
The Prairie Parkway's leading backer plans to release a letter today, asking the state to be more considerate
of property lines when recording a centerline for the 33-mile proposed highway.
U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Yorkville, is to release a letter to the Illinois Department of Transportation
requesting that engineers and planners try to avoid cutting property into pieces while siting the 400-foot corridor,
according to Hastert spokesman Brad Hahn.
IDOT is evaluating the proposed corridor-protection area based on public comments and eventually will adjust
that centerline.
"He recommits to the overall concept and asks IDOT to consider property lines," Hahn said.
Hastert's letter asks IDOT to avoid slicing property where it seems the outer-belt road instead could run down
parcel lines and do minimal damage, Hahn said.
Many residents, especially farmers, already have complained that the corridor in western Kane and Kendall counties
leaves them with unusable parcels of property that will be inaccessible when the road is built.
The letter will mark Hastert's first official public response to the road since a public hearing was held in
Yorkville on Dec. 11.
Residents at a number of public meetings held since then have called for the speaker's involvement in the public
information process.
Hastert has been in support of concept of an outer-belt highway since 1988, when he was a state representative,
and he already has secured $15 million in federal funds for a Phase I study of the highway.
The Yorkville Republican told The Beacon News earlier this month that he has not been involved in public meetings
and the corridor evaluation process because he wants to leave the siting of the road up to engineers.
He said he does not want his comments to influence where the corridor eventually is recorded.
Hahn could not comment until the letter is released as to why the speaker decided to issue a public statement
at this time.