Daily Herald
January 17, 2002

McCoy says Kane controlling growth

By David R. Kazak Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted on January 17, 2002

Kane County is experiencing swift growth, but the county's government is at the forefront of controlling that growth, board Chairman Mike McCoy said Wednesday.

Dealing with growth was McCoy's theme during his annual state of the county speech given during a gathering of leaders from DuPage, Kane and Kendall counties.

Hinting at his battle with state transportation officials - who are in the early stages of planning an expressway in western Kane County - McCoy touted how Kane's leaders have worked to preserve the county's western agricultural belt.

That recent work includes the "Rustic Road" program, which limits development along designated roadways. Also, a farmland preservation program gives the county a chance to purchase land so farmers don't have to sell it to developers.

"That's our heritage," McCoy said. "We want it to remain part of our county."

Besides working to control growth, Kane also is dealing with the consequences of growth, McCoy said. Kane is upgrading congested roads with a $50 million pool of borrowed money acquired the sale of government bonds.

Still, McCoy said, some $200 million worth of needed roadway improvements remain unfunded.

"My biggest concern as chairman is this: How can we fund our transportation needs?" he said.

McCoy joked that officials facing transportation woes have learned a lesson from Randall Road, which he said holds the label of "limited access freeway."

"I think of it more as a linear mall," he said, noting the explosion in commercial growth along the county's busiest north-south roadway. "And that's not exactly what we anticipated."