Were there any doubt where he stood on the proposed Prairie Parkway, the conceptual outer-belt expressway being eyed for Kane and Kendall Counties, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) released the text Thursday of a letter he sent earlier this month to state Transportation Secretary Kirk Brown in which he expresses–officially–his “continued support” for the plan.
Though Hastert says in the Feb. 7 letter that he defers to engineers and experts on “the specific designation of where and how roads are to be built,” he suggests “it makes good sense, to the extent practical, to site the proposed corridor along existing section and property lines.”
“I believe that such an action will help mitigate the obvious and negative impact of breaking up affected properties. In short, there may be sound scientific reasons regarding the specific siting of the proposed corridor, common sense dictates that, where possible, existing boundary lines should be respected,” Hastert wrote.
Counted among the plan’s critics are the farm bureaus of Kane and Kendall Counties.
Hastert’s six-paragraph letter was among hundreds of statements and recorded comments submitted to the Illinois Department of Transportation during the 60-day public comment period on its proposed corridor protection plan for the possible 33-mile expressway connecting Interstate Highway 88 near Kaneville and Interstate Highway 80 near Minooka.
Whatever mixed reviews the corridor protection proposal has received since its formal announcement in December, there is nothing mixed about Hastert’s message.
“A north-south transportation route through Kane and Kendall counties is important to the future economic viability of my congressional district and our efforts to protect the way of life we enjoy in our region,” Hastert said.
“I continue to view this corridor as a rare opportunity to prepare a strategy to alleviate tomorrow’s transportation problems,” he said.
More outer belt: Although the official comment period on the state’s outer-belt plan ended Feb. 10, area officials critical of the state’s preferred corridor are continuing to press on in search of a reasonable, more easterly alternative that Brown says he would be willing to consider.
To that end, officials from Aurora, Montgomery, Sugar Grove and Kendall County have been invited to Kane County Thursday to take part in an outer-belt pow-wow the County Board’s Transportation and Development Committees are hosting.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Kane County Government Center, in Geneva.
Endorsement roll call: On the Kendall County Courthouse steps in Yorkville Thursday, Hastert said he is backing DuPage County State’s Atty. Joseph Birkett in his Republican run for attorney general.
Hastert said Birkett “is head and shoulders above” his competition for the nomination. He cited Birkett’s legislative efforts, including laws that increased the penalties for drunken driving and enhanced the penalties for criminals convicted of dealing Ecstasy or similar club drugs. Birkett said he was “truly honored and humbled to have the support.”
Also, DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom is backing Yolanda Campuzano for an open seat on the board, representing District 1 in northeastern DuPage. That’s unique because–other than Campuzano–Schillerstrom is endorsing only incumbents.
Schillerstrom has, however, overlooked one incumbent: Alice Peterson (R-Woodridge), who is running against three other incumbents for the County Board’s District 3. Peterson and Schillerstrom have had some run-ins over the years, but the biggest reason for his decision is that the three candidates Peterson is running against–Michael McMahon, Kyle Gilgis and Tom Bennington–are loyal Schillerstrom supporters. In fact, Schillerstrom appointed McMahon and Gilgis to the board.
Speaking of (for) Hastert: Former Illinois Republican Party flak Bradley Hahn has signed on as district press secretary for Hastert in the Yorkville Republican’s office in Batavia. The 28-year-old Hahn hails from Deerfield. In addition to working for the state GOP, his news reporting background includes stints with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, as well as the Daily Herald and Courier News locally. He interned in the Tribune’s Washington bureau in 1996.
Auditor finds cash: Though DuPage County Auditor Jim Rasins is one of the few county officials not up for re-election this year, that hasn’t stopped him from promoting his works in office.
This week, Rasins issued a press release to tout the fact that he tracked down $81,000 in cable television franchise fees.
The television providers wrote the checks to DuPage County and the checks were cashed.
But a problem arose in the doling out of the money: Instead of going to DuPage, the money landed in the bank account of Will County. Rasins still isn’t sure how the mix-up occurred, but he is happy that Will County confirmed the problem and fired off checks to DuPage.
Democrat leaving town: Bloomingdale Democrat Rosie Fitzpatrick, who has run several spirited, yet unsuccessful, campaigns for county office, is leaving the Chicago area due to an illness in her family.
In a recent letter to friends and supporters, Fitzpatrick said her husband, Chris, needs a “warmer climate, and I cannot stand in the way of his health and comfort at this stage in his life.”
