Road rage of another form erupted Monday as activists stormed the Mundelein offices of a county road project, objecting to any plan that might include a $1.2 billion expansion of Illinois Highway 53.
“We’re here to address some concerns citizens have,” said Betty Sterling, co-chair of Citizens Organized for Sound Transportation. “We have not been able to get a real seat at the table.”
About 40 activists and local politicians crammed into the offices of the Lake County Transportation Improvement Project, which began a $7 million, two-year, regionwide transportation study in March.
Transportation planners said the study was intended as an overview of transportation needs in Lake County and that Illinois 53 wasn’t the sole focus.
Still, on Monday, activists and politicians directed their criticism mainly on a proposal for an 18-mile extension of Illinois 53 from Buffalo Grove to central Lake County near Grayslake. They also criticized the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and questioned the role being played by a national public-relations firm hired by the authority.
“We want relief, and we want relief now, from the intolerable traffic we deal with,” said Deb Giles, a Mundelein resident and executive director of North Corridor Against the Tollway.
“The problem is on existing roads,” Giles said, “so make the necessary improvements to those roads now. Stop trying to make us panic by watching traffic volumes pile up year after year. Stop spending more of our money while the state tries to resuscitate the Route 53 extension and local roads are smothered with traffic. Stop stalling.”
The Lake County Transportation Improvement Project is co-sponsored by the tollway authority and the Illinois Department of Transportation. Officials of those agencies said the study would end in two years if the Illinois 53 extension is not one of the traffic solutions selected for Lake County.
Lidia Pilecky, co-manager of the study, and Peter Harmet, an IDOT engineer, appeared stunned by the vehemence of remarks by protesters who lined the walls of the small office.
Pilecky said the study’s purpose is to offer a comprehensive transportation overview of Lake County, including alternatives such as new train and bus routes, and pedestrian and bicycle paths.
“It is not about Route 53, but what needs to be done for transportation solutions in Lake County in the future, and to come up with the right solutions,” she said. “If we make several billion dollars in investments in Lake County, we need to know where to focus. We need to be smart about it.”
Several protesters questioned where that much money would come from to complete the project. Harmet offered a standing invitation to meet with public groups on the project.
“Transportation is a divisive issue in Lake County,” Harmet said. “Some people will say, `Don’t do anything.’ “
Various studies have backed the Illinois 53 extension. But Helga Ziegler, member of the Grayslake Action Alliance and owner of an apple orchard in the path of the proposed extension, said it has been beaten back repeatedly by public protests.
“I would really like to know what part of `no’ does the Tollway Authority not understand?” Ziegler asked.
Some protesters questioned whether the tollway authority was fit to conduct the investigation, citing a bias for road-building and past political and financial irregularities.
“I don’t think the tollway has been responsive, and we have a very environmentally sensitive area in Lake County,” said State Sen. William Peterson (R-Long Grove).
Former state Rep. John Matijevich and others questioned the role of Hill & Knowlton Inc., the public-relations firm, in promoting the Lake County transportation study under a state contract for $660,000.
