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Elburn Herald
January 10, 2002
Guest columnist: Dennis C. Ryan, former trustee, Town and County Library Board
With all the hassle in the newspapers concerning the proposed western "Prairie Parkway" by-pass to link
I-88 to I-80, I have been surprised by the lack of concern over this matter by many Elburn residents. For those
of you who mistakenly believe this "land grab" is not your fight, try these problems on for size:
Tax Loss vs. Taxation Increase
As the Prairie Parkway hacks its way through Kane County's rich farmland, there will be a considerable number of
taxable acres seized by the state of Illinois. Remember, the state pays no property taxes. Remember also that
the biggest portion of your annual property tax bill goes to fund the Kaneland School District. Thus, if those
tax dollars are lost to the School District, guess who has to make up the difference?
Remember this when your tax bill rises as a result of this great "favor" from the Illinois Department
of Transportation.
And how about additional direct costs to the School District caused by the cutting and re-routing of numerous rural
roads made necessary by the construction of this boondoggle? How will this affect Kaneland's school bus routes?
Will the School District need to provide more busses? Will more drivers be needed? What will be the increase in
fuel and insurance costs? How much will the extra salaries and benefits for more drivers cost?
Fire Protection, Medical Response
As is already the case with I-88, every fire district through which the proposed Prairie Parkway would pass would
be expected to provide fire and ambulance services to it. My understanding is that the state of Illinois now provides
some financial reimbursement for the efforts of fire districts through which I-88 extends. For this amount, each
district is expected to provide the equipment, manpower, supplies and expertise to solve whatever accident problems
the tollway dumps into its lap. This situation is particularly unfair to the Maple Park and Kaneville Fire Districts,
which are mainly staffed by volunteers who have to leave their jobs to "answer the call" in emergencies.
These smaller fire districts also have limited financial resources and in instances of large fires, or multiple
fires or accidents, they can't do the job alone.
In cases of severe fires and accidents, these department have to call on the Elburn and Countryside Fire District
for mutual aid, thus also placing Elburn fire personnel and equipment in harm's way. Although no fireman would
refuse duty's call, this situation is one which could (and should) be avoided by simply burying these plans for
the Prairie Parkway.
Development:
We have been told that the proposed parkway is only a plan to more quickly move traffic; it is not supposed to
stimulate development. Oh?
Imagine that you are a farm owner whose land is in the path of the proposed parkway. What do you do? Do you stand
still and watch as your fields are divided, or do you sell?
If the parkway splits your land into two portions, one of which is nearly inaccessible for farming, would you be
more willing to listen to the offers of developers to buy that piece of land? So much for not stimulating development.
Thus we see the destruction of Kane County's rural preservation plan, and the end of Western Kane County as we
know it.
The Illinois Department of Transportation has extended its period for public comment on this plan to Sunday, Feb.
10, so send your comments to: James Jereb, District Engineer, IDOT, 700 E. Norris Drive, Ottawa, IL 61350.
As the big promoter of this scheme is our own U.S. congressman, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. Send a copy
of your comments to him at: Rep. J. Dennis Hastert, 27 N. River St., Batavia, IL 60510. His phone number is 406-1114.