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Aurora Beacon-News
December 27, 2001
By Marie-Anne Hogarth
STAFF WRITER
BIG ROCK ó It was an orderly but opinionated crowd which gathered in the school gym Thursday to voice views about
a proposed freeway through the eastern part of their township.
Some, like Nell Evans, a lifelong resident here, called for the protection of farmland, one of the world's most
important resources.
"Misuse of farmland is a very tragic thing," Evans said.
Others, like Big Rock resident Marty Hunt, feared a road would destroy the rural nature of area communities.
Many of the couple hundred residents present had questions about how their properties' values would be affected
if the Illinois Department of Transportation fixes a centerline for the road.
The road's main proponent, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Yorkville, apparently wants this done within the
next year so that money for the road can be included in the next federal highway bill.
IDOT engineers Gregory Mounts and Thomas Sancken explained that fixing the road corridor would allow the state
to protect the property before anybody had the chance to develop it.
If their property was seized through power of eminent domain, residents would have the opportunity to negotiate
a price, Sancken said. If no agreement was reached, the issue would go before a judge.
Because the road was not immediately being built, government would not have the power of "quick take,"
Sancken said.
To a questions about whether an appraiser would consider the proposed outer belt's impact on property value, Sancken
said an appraiser would not. Instead, an appraiser would look at a history of sales of similar properties in the
area.
As the evening wore on, residents became less shy about letting IDOT representatives know their feelings and implying
that political interests were fueling the push for the road.
One man asked why a northern extension of the roadway appeared to have been eliminated.
"I don't know if has been dropped. It is still being pursued but not really actively," said Mounts. "We
are pursuing this one (the connection between Interstates 80 and 88) because (the area) is growing rapidly."
But when asked who told him that this section of Kane County was growing so fast, Mounts responded that he was
talking generally of the Kane/Kendall area.
"What would it take for you to get the word no," said Big Rock Township Clerk Mary Dalton, to applause
from the crowd. "We know Aurora wants it. Let them have it."
Aurora officials support the road as necessary to move traffic north and south to alleviate congestion as the area
continues to grow.
It's an argument that many here aren't buying.
"You're from Ottawa. Were you working for the IDOT 15 years ago?" Big Rock Township Supervisor Bob Moga
asked Mounts. "Do you remember a saying, 'Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part?'"
" ... There's not traffic out here except on Route 47," Moga said. "You guys are making mistakes.
You blew a lot of money on that road. Why didn't you make it four lanes?"
Several residents suggested the alternative of making improvements to existing routes, such as Randall Road, Eola
Road, Orchard Road and Route 47.
Some questioned Kane County Board Chairman Mike McCoy about the outer belt, and how it went against Kane County's
2020 plan to keep the western portion of the county undeveloped.
Currently, the proposed road puts in limbo the county's purchase of several farms through the farmland preservation
program, McCoy said.
"I'm against (the road) as proposed," McCoy said.
He said the federal dollars would be better spent on other local road projects.
Blanca Souders, whose farm near Kaneville will likely get chopped up by the road, said she didn't blame the men
from IDOT.
"You poor guys from IDOT don't have any say in this," she said. "This is a federal project."
Souders teared up, saying she preferred the government would take her house, rather than her land.
Attorney and developer Vince Salerno said the outer belt was the first step toward a larger plan to build Peotone
Airport.
Another man suggested that politics had kept the highway out of DeKalb County, where land was cheaper and residents
were hungrier for development.
"Political and financial interest in Kendall County is driving this road," said Brook McDonald of the
Conservation Foundation. "There is a definitely a relationship with Peotone, although I haven't figured it
out."
The proposed outer belt would run from Interstate 88 south, just skirting Kaneville and eventually turning to run
along Dauberman Road at Scott Road.
It would run due south, into Kendall County, where, after crossing the Fox River, it turns east to hook up with
Interstate 80 in Minooka.
The Conservation Foundation will host a forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Beecher Community Center on Game Farm
Road in Yorkville.
Varying views onthe highway project will be presented.
Also in attendance at Thursday's meeting were state Rep. Pat Lindner, R-Sugar Grove, her opponent in the upcoming
election Wade Joyner, Kane County Board member Jan Carlson, R-Elburn, and Big Rock Township trustees.