Sherman asks Gov.
Quinn about extending
Route 53 through Lake County
Tomorrow, Governor Quinn will be holding a 2 p.m. news
conference to address issues pertaining to the Illinois
Tollway.
I've been invited to the news conference.
I don't do ambush interviews, where I ask a question that the speaker may not be prepared to answer. I'd rather have the speaker do some research and provide me with an answer that addresses my question.
I've submitted, in advance through Pat Quinn's top press aide, a question regarding the long-awaited extension of Route 53 from near Buffalo Grove through Lake County.
I asked the press aide the following question, and communicated to him the following premises upon which the question is asked:
Is Governor Quinn ready to take a position on
extending Route 53 through Lake County, either as a
Tollway (much more likely) or a freeway?
This
question is based on several premises:
1.
Whenever I ask Tollway officials about extending
Route 53, the answer always is, "We're waiting for
direction from the Governor."
2. In
the April election this year, a referendum question
was place on the ballot by the Lake County Board,
asking if residents wanted Route 53 extended. The
answer was an overwhelming, "Yes."
3.
This project has been in the works for about 50
years. How much longer do we have to wait?
4.
Traffic in the region of the proposed extension is
absolutely paralyzed every morning and evening,
resulting in spillover Through Traffic onto
neighborhood arterials. The clogged arterials cause
Through Traffic to then spill over onto residential
streets, resulting in Through Traffic racing down
our 25 mph residential streets at 40 mph or more.
That's not fair to us nor safe for our kids.
5. In
the past week, the CTA has proposed spending two
billion dollars to extend three Rapid Transit
lines. Another proposal would spend hundreds of
millions of dollars building a bypass for Midway
Airport by extending Central Avenue over the
railroad tracks between 65th Street and 73rd
Street. While both projects certainly are needed,
when will money be spent to address the traffic
needs of those of us who are actually paying the
taxes to fund all of these projects? Where's mine?
6.
Doing it as a tollway would get the project built
without impacting the State budget.
7.
With Tollway "Rebuild and Widen" coming to a close,
substantial construction capacity becomes available.
Please
let me know if Governor Quinn is ready to take a
position on this matter. Thanks.
The press aide has
promised to get back to me, soon after the news
conference, with the Governor's answer.