There was much talk nearly two years ago about the need for a pedestrian overpass after 12-year-old Lori Most was killed by a commuter train as she crossed railroad tracks between her home in unincorporated Milton Township and the Wheaton public school she was to have attended.
Since then, a handful of governmental agencies have inched closer to an agreement that would provide the local share of the $851,000 needed to build a walkway over the Chicago and North Western tracks near Monroe Middle School.
It’s still uncertain, though, whether DuPage County will pitch in the contribution of $25,000-the governmental equivalent of pocket change in a church collection basket-that the other agencies are seeking.
County Board member Michael Formento (R-Glen Ellyn) said he hopes to bring a resolution authorizing a contribution for the project to the next meeting of the board’s Finance Committee in July.
The county, though, will not be party to any intergovernmental agreement being worked out between other agencies, including Wheaton-Warrenville School District 200 and the Wheaton Park District. Nor will the county assume any responsibility for maintenance and upkeep of the overpass, Formento said.
And if board members were to approve the contribution, the county would cough up the money only after all other agencies had paid their shares.
Lori was killed in August 1993 as she was returning home after registering for fall classes at Monroe. At the time, she was using a well-traveled shortcut between the school, which is south of the tracks, and homes in a subdivision north of the tracks. The alternative for children from the subdivision is a two-mile detour down Manchester Road and up County Farm Road.
The school district and the Park District are expected to contribute $50,000 apiece to the bridge project, with other contributions expected from Wheaton, Milton Township and the railroad. Most of the project will be funded by a state grant, but local agencies must come up with $170,500.
Progress toward building the overpass has been slow because some of the governmental agencies involved in the talks are concerned with protecting themselves from future liability.
The big chill: Officials of Aerospace International Cos., the Batavia-based venture that pulled out of a deal earlier this year to acquire Planemaster Services Inc. from the DuPage Airport Authority, have encountered more turbulence with their latest business proposal.
Aerospace International wants to offer flight-training and aircraft rentals at the airport and sought quick approval from the airport board of a plan to rent office and counter space on the first floor of the airport’s Flight Center.
Board members, though, refused to consider the proposed lease at their monthly meeting Wednesday. Instead, they opted quickly and unanimously to table the matter without public discussion. The proposed lease now will be discussed at the board’s committee of whole meeting in mid-July and considered at its next formal meeting in late July.
