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Daily Herald
December 27, 2001
By Tona Kunz Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted on December 27, 2001
Opponents of a proposed expressway just west of Route 47 will have more time to log objections with the state,
but far less time than they say they need.
The Illinois Department of Transportation Wednesday agreed to extend the public comment deadline from Jan. 11 to
Feb. 10 regarding the 33-mile stretch that would link interstates 80 and 88. That gives residents of Kane and Kendall
counties a total of 60 days to voice concerns instead of the 120 days both county boards and the resident group,
Citizens Against the Sprawlway, requested.
"It seems clear to us that they are interested in moving forward quickly and not in hearing from people,"
said Jan Strasma, a Maple Park member of the anti-expressway group.
Strasma called the short extension a "token" effort by the state and still plans to schedule an opposition
rally before the deadline.
A date hasn't been nailed down, but Strasma said it won't conflict with the information meeting tonight in Big
Rock, the Jan. 9 meeting in Yorkville or a Kane County meeting possibly in the works.
At Tuesday's county executive committee meeting, board Chairman Mike McCoy plans to bring up the idea of having
IDOT brief the county board on the expressway plans and hold a meeting for resident input.
IDOT held a public hearing in Yorkville this month, but has no others scheduled.
"We'll have some sort of session in Kane County with or without IDOT," McCoy said.
A north-south expressway to alleviate traffic congestion has caused controversy for a decade. The idea - which
would eventually connect Interstate 80 and Interstate 90 - has been bantered about but took off this year after
winning the support of U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
Proponents view it as a necessary release valve for Route 47, Randall Road and the interstates as well as an economic
engine for the western towns and underdeveloped Kendall County. Opponents fear it will turn well-planned villages
surrounded by open space into the merging strip malls of DuPage and squander precious road money.
The Kane County Board favors building an expressway in DeKalb or near Aurora and Sugar Grove where 3 miles instead
of 9 miles would fall within Kane. Citizens Against the Sprawlway favor expanding existing roads such as Route
47 while creating bypasses around towns like Elburn to protect them from new subdivision and retail developments.
Or best yet, McCoy said, would be using the money to fix current congestion by expanding Randall Road, adding stop
lights to Route 47 or building another Fox River bridge rather than studying a future expressway.
"If we have an influx of federal money, we could use that money now," he said.
Maps of the two corridors the state ruled out and the current favorite called the Outer Belt Expressway or Prairie
Parkway can be seen at Thursday's information meeting.
The newly incorporated village of Big Rock called the meeting at 7 p.m. in the Big Rock Elementary School to give
its residents a chance to speak out on the road planned near their boundary, but the meeting is open to all. This
is the first meeting not organized by IDOT.
"I would expect a big turnout," McCoy said.
Representatives are expected to attend from the Illinois Department of Transportation,
Kane County Board, Conservation Foundation and the offices of state Sen. Chris Lauzen, an Aurora Republican, and
state Rep. Patricia Linder, a Sugar Grove Republican.