Home | News Index | Southern Link | Northern Link | How to Oppose | Kane 2020 Plan | Kendall Plan

Daily Herald
August 25, 2003

Stopping a parkway with lemonade

By Darryl Mellema
Daily Herald Correspondent

With the hay rides, the band and the overflowing amounts of food, Sunday's picnic at Marvel Davis' farm wasn't that much different from dozens of other get-togethers this summer - or any summer.

But the gathering of some 200 at Davis' farm on Jericho Road near Big Rock also carried a political message, summed up by the green and white "Stop the Beltway" signs awaiting distribution.

Between bites of barbecue and homemade brownies, conversation kept returning to the issue of the proposed Prairie Parkway, an expressway that would link I-80 near Morris with I-88 near Route 47. Davis' farm is on the front line of the Prairie Parkway discussion. The road would cut a 400-foot path through land that has been in Davis family hands since 1836.

"We believe that we can make a difference," Davis said. "We refuse to say this is a done deal or that there is nothing we can do, because there are still things we can do."

Amid the serious discussions of how to oppose the Prairie Parkway, there was time for cups of lemonade and a hayride around grazing cattle.

"The real reason we had this picnic, why we had it last year and why we'll have it next year, is because it's fun," said Jan Strasma, chair of Citizens Against the Sprawlway, a coalition of organizations and individuals who oppose construction of the Prairie Parkway.

"This is a chance for people who love open space and love farms to get together," Strasma said.

The coalition does not see itself as anti-growth, but rather as asking the Illinois Department of Transportation to consider other options before building the Prairie Parkway.

IDOT has begun analyzing various options. The state has put a 400-foot-wide land corridor on the deeds of property owners in the path of the proposed road. Owners may not make alterations to the land without getting state approval.

Support for roadway expansion has come from House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a Yorkville Republican, but he has not formally endorsed a final location for the road. This leaves area politicians with the feeling that options still exist.

"The conclusion should not be in place before you go through a rational process," said state Sen. Chris Lauzen, an Aurora Republican. "You should establish a need first and make sure you won't harm the environment too much."

Lauzen said one option could involve expansion of Route 47.

"Route 47 has, for a couple of generations, been a strategic regional artery," Lauzen said. "Wouldn't you think, if you had an extra expense in transportation, that you'd put it where you had existing road investment?"