Daily Herald
January 17, 2002
By David R. Kazak Daily Herald Staff
Writer
Kane County's top elected official Wednesday said state
transportation officials have misled the public about a proposed
expressway that would ring the outer Chicago area.
Kane County Board Chairman Mike McCoy said two-year-old IDOT
documents show that a so-called outerbelt expressway would do nothing
to fix local traffic problems and is, in part, being considered in
conjunction with the proposed Peotone Airport.
IDOT engineers denied knowing specific effects the outerbelt
expressway would have on local traffic and claimed Peotone never was
a factor in siting the roadway's corridor. Officials in
Transportation Director Kirk Brown's office said despite McCoy's
claims, what has been said in public meetings holds true.
McCoy's accusation is just the latest shot in a battle that began in
December, when state officials announced their intention to protect
from development a 400-foot-wide, 33-mile-long corridor of land
between I-80 and I-88 in Kendall and Kane counties.
The proposed expressway corridor remains the subject of heated public
comment until the comment period deadline of Feb. 10.
McCoy has become IDOT's staunchest opponent to the corridor, mainly
because he believes it and the expressway that would follow would
destroy the county's efforts to preserve the county's western
agriculture belt.
McCoy has not been a silent opponent. Earlier this month, at his
urging, the county board voted to oppose the state's plan. He also
planted red flags that mark where the corridor crosses county roads,
painting a stark picture of the future expressway's path.
Now, in a memo to fellow board members, McCoy has accused IDOT of
giving the public something less than the truth.
"There appear to be several inconsistencies between what is being
said to the public and what is in these memos," McCoy wrote.
The documents, about 30 pages of an engineering consultant's report,
say the proposed expressway would "primarily serve long-distance
traffic." It also says the road's path should favor destinations
south of Chicago, "such as the future third airport site near
Peotone."
McCoy said he found the information -- which was given to him by the
DuPage County-based Conservation Foundation -- "peculiar."
"Why would IDOT be less than truthful? I don't know, unless their
true purpose is something they don't want the public to know about,"
McCoy said.
Brown spokesman Richard Adorjan on Wednesday acknowledged the 1999
report, but downplayed its significance.
"Those documents are part of a dynamic process," spokesman Richard
Adorjan said. "It's like taking five frames of a movie, and saying
that's the whole movie."
No firm answers about the expressway will be available until a
multiyear, detailed analysis of the road's need and impact is done,
Adorjan said.
As for the hot-button Peotone reference, Adorjan said the report took
a cursory look at a regional outerbelt expressway's impact, and
mentioned Peotone because the road obviously would affect those
traveling to the proposed airport.
Beyond that, the mention holds no other significance.
"Peotone has no bearing on the selection of this corridor," Adorjan
emphasized.