As activists who have frequently led the attack against problems at the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, we now wish to lead the applause over the agency’s proposal to level the Deerfield toll plaza.
The move is the latest and most dramatic signal that the recent surge of public pressure to reform the toll authority is paying off–literally. After all, the demolition of the Deerfield site will result in a net reduction in toll collections.
The proposal comes at a pivotal juncture in the toll authority’s history, as the General Assembly prepares to heed a legal ruling requiring it to oversee the agency’s traditionally occult operations. So if the toll authority suddenly appears more docile, perhaps it’s because, at long last, the public is poised to pull back on the agency’s reins.
Indeed, the Deerfield plan is, itself, the best argument in favor of the added accountability prescribed by the court. All of the factors that purportedly led the toll authority to recommend scrapping the plaza –traffic snarls, safety hazards and disruptions to the surrounding neighborhoods–were just as significant several years ago, when the agency nonetheless planned to reconstruct the plaza. The central difference is that the toll authority was not under the intense scrutiny several years ago that it faces today from lawmakers, environmental organizations and grassroots groups that together reflect a budding public appetite to curtail the agency’s legendary power, rather than see it crumple under its own weight.
In short, fear is a great motivator. If we want to promote more of the progressive public policy instituted at Deerfield, we must redouble efforts to hold the agency accountable.
Make no mistake, critics of the authority do not thrive off its disrepute. In fact, we believe that unfavorable perceptions of the agency are a symptom of its immunity to reform–and no one prospers under these conditions. The recuperation of the toll authority’s image, then, should be welcomed as a bellwether of its intent to bring its practices and public opinion into better harmony. And we will sing its praises whenever it does so.
