My Illiana Dream Expressway

Here's my dream Illiana Expressway that can get me to many of the places I want to go in Illinois while avoiding traffic congestion on the Tri-State highway.

Run the Illiana Expressway from I-65 someplace in Lake County, Indiana to I-57. Continue the highway northeast to connect with the I-355 extension that will meet up with I-80 near New Lenox, Illinois.

From the Illinois Tollway:

The Illinois Tollway is constructing a 12.5-mile, three-lane extension of the North-South Tollway (I-355) from where it currently ends at the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) through Will County to I-80. This project is part of the Tollway's $5.3 billion Congestion-Relief Program to reduce travel times.

If this was the case, the Illiana Expressway would be an extension of I-355, providing easy access to Lake County, Indiana from Cook, Will, and DuPage counties in Illinois.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway Illiana+Legislation Illiana+Toll+Road Interstate Transportation Public+Private+Toll+Roads

Does CAPIT Really Care About North Lake County?

An interesting exchange occurred earlier on the Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Toll Road in which someone asked if CAPIT was really concerned about North Lake County, or if they were just being patronizing?

From the CAPIT No Illiana Toll Road Yahoo group:

I have no problem with anyone who is either for or against the road and their reasons are their personal business.

However, I think you folks look silly letting these professional "activists" clowns hitch their wagon to your cause or visa versa, however it went.

Mr. Ahlberg was quoted in the Times today as saying that he is now (and I'm paraphrasing) deeply concerned about the plight of Gary.

Please.

Enough already with the patronization of those who have nothing to do with the reasons that you don't want this road. This is totally about not wanting a road through YOUR neighborhood and NOTHING to do with Gary or the northern cities, period.

After some remarks from the CAPIT membership, the groups' leader Dave Alhberg responded with his comments:

I have exchanged several e-mails with the gentleman that first posted under this subject. He was reacting to how I appeared in the newspaper articles and after I explained what I had said that wasn't quoted in the paper, he saw things much differently. I hope to meet him personally at the meeting in Lake County on Wednesday. ...

The gist of what I said at the press conference was that while concern for our home and land was what fired us up in the first place, further research showed that there were far reaching impacts from a public works project like the Illiana Toll Road, and that it was a mistake to look solely at the project and not take a wider view of planning for the NWI area. What I said about the boarded up buildings and closed businesses in Hammond and Gary was absolutely my true feelings. We cannot continue to turn green fields to brown fields, and just because we want to protect the green fields, doesn't mean we can't care about the brown fields.

It's really difficult to boil these thoughts down to the "quotes" the media wants to print, and in this case, apparently I wasn't successful. That won't stop me from continuing to try.

Dave

It's great to see the opposition to the Illiana Toll Road Expressway is keeping things civil when dealing with supporters of the Interstate highway project. Maybe the back and forth between the supporters and opponents will result in the best possible outcomes for Lake County -- even if both sides don't get exactly what they hoped they'd receive when and if the project is approved or tabled.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway Illiana+Legislation Illiana+Toll+Road Interstate Transportation Public+Private+Toll+Roads

Saturday Toll Road Fun -- Do IOUs Work On Turnpikes?

Since it is Saturday and there hasn't been any news from the Governor's office about the Illiana Toll Road Expressway popping up on the news wires -- at least I hope there isn't anything showing up since I did my quick scan of the news wires using the major search engines listed in my links list below -- I've decided to post a link to a comedic adventure on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

John Hargrave tells us about his experiments with paying for tolls using methods that might not necessarily be approved by the toll road authorities.

From The Turnpike Prank:

Recently, while giving away yet another $1.00 of my hard-earned money for the privilege of driving into town, I wondered: how flexible are they about the tolls? So I decided to undertake a series of experiments.

John Hargrave

Turnpike Prank

Toll Road

humor

Would Illiana Be Greatest Good For The Greatest Number?

The Herald Bulletin raises points concerning the Indiana Commerce Connector that are applicable to the proposed Illiana Toll Road Expressway. Fears of uncontrolled economic growth can be controlled through zoning and other efforts cities, towns and county governments already undertake.

The key question is what promises the greatest good for the most people?

Writes the Herald Bulletin editorial board:

There is a conflict between the wish for economic growth and the desire to maintain small, intimate communities. A lot of times, however, it’s difficult to maintain the community without the growth that will increase the tax base.

It becomes, like most everything else, a matter of compromise. John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism said “the greatest good for the greatest number.” We need to keep in mind that commerce and growth would serve area residents well.

We still think the growth the Commerce Connector would provide would be beneficial to the communities it would link. (Pendleton Town Council President Don) Henderson said he thinks it will eventually happen. We agree and suggest we plan on it.

Unions -- who represent 90% of highway construction workers -- say between 42,000 to 47,000 jobs are created for every $1 billion spent on road projects.

Lake County could use some of the economic stimulation that would be created by the Illiana Expressway Toll Road. The prospect of creating 47,000 extra jobs and putting many hard working union members to work building the Illiana Expressway Toll Road is not insignificant and weighs the scale heavily toward approval of the project.

We need to ask ourselves what would provide the greatest good for the most numbers of people in Lake County, Indiana before we turn our backs on a project that promises to bring significant economic development to Northwest Indiana.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway Illiana+Legislation Illiana+Toll+Road Interstate Transportation Public+Private+Toll+Roads

Highway Construction Trades 90% Unionized

Highway funding and construction creates many union jobs, according to the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 Business Manager Terry McGowan:

These are just some of the reasons that a recent Cambridge study submitted to the Federal Highway Administration cited that for every $1 billion dollars spent on highways nationwide, 47,000 new jobs are created.

Half of those jobs are directly related to the actual construction of roadway, the rest are incidental to the new investment in the local economy, not to mention the expansion of the existing infrastructure in that area. I hold firm in my conviction to this philosophy.

In my years serving this industry I have seen the highway infrastructure program serve as a barometer to the state’s economy as well as the good and welfare of our membership, an organization that has been building Wisconsin highways for more than 100 years. It is also an industry that is more than 90 percent organized.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

AFL-CIO: 42,000 Jobs For Each $1B Of Highway Spending

The AFL-CIO wrote in 2003 that 42,000 jobs are created for every $1 billion of highway spending when it was warning American workers about cuts the Bush Administration had made in funding highway construction projects.

A billion dollars invested in highway construction creates more than 42,000 jobs. The drastic cut in funding the Administration proposes will ripple through the economy beyond construction to manufacturing, services and other industries and affect jobs and the economy for years to come. ...

Under-investment in the national transportation infrastructure leads to inefficiencies in transport and delays in travel for business and for the traveling and commuting public.

Adequate investments in highway construction are also a key building block for ensuring homeland security. Indeed, national security was one of the key reasons motivating President Eisenhower's commitment to building a solid, well-maintained interstate highway system.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

'Ignoring The Needs Of The Future'

Morton Marcus argues that anti Illiana Expressway activists are ignoring the needs of the future for shortsighted personal concerns.

On another note, I am disappointed that Gov. Daniels has withdrawn his support for the Commerce Connector around the eastern and southern sides of the Indianapolis metro area. I am equally distressed that he orphaned the Illiana Expressway east of I-65.

These were good ideas he put forward. Now is the time to pursue them.

Today the public outcry against these initiatives is too strong for a smart politician to ignore. Soon it will be too late to advance these projects because the land will be built over and the number and intensity of the protests will be much greater. The governor proposed what will be needed. His ideas deserved serious consideration not knee-jerk opposition. The narrow-minded occupants of these lands today showed again the human tendency to ignore the needs of the future. Rather than risk their ire, the governor stepped back.

If Mitch Daniels was a good bureaucrat, he would have appointed a "blue ribbon" council to outline the transportation needs of the state.

Then he could have endorsed their proposals with less identification of his own political career with the projects themselves. It is always sad when voters won't consider the rational programs of their leaders.

And these are the same voters who follow blindly a president who is bereft of rational programs.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

CAPIT Plans Lake Co. Rally April 4

The Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Toll Road plan a Lake County rally at the Fairgrounds on April 4, according to their Yahoo message board (free registration required).

Writes CAPIT leader Dave Ahlberg:

We have set up an informational meeting at the Lake County Fairgrouds, 4H Building on Wednesday, April 4, at 6:30.

This will be an opportunity for Lake County to show its strength in opposition to the I65 / I-57 Illiana Toll Road.

We need a LARGE turnout to show that we are not rolling over on the western section. We are opposed to the project, we are opposed to any study done by the state. We need to address this LOUD and CLEAR so that the legislators know there is "massive opposition" to the west end also.

This meeting may be the one and only chance Lake County residents have to show the Lake County opposition to the Illiana Toll Road. The Governor has stated that even the west end could be a Privatized Toll Road.

It's not over people! The whole thing could resurface in the closing days of the session. We need to keep up the heat! I hope to see you there.

It will be interesting to compare the number of license plates with "64" and "45, 94 & 96" prefixes are in the Lake County Fairgrounds parking lot that evening.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

A New Anti Illiana Expressway Coalition Forms

The Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Toll Road joined forces with the Interfaith Federation, Save The Dunes Council and the Duneland Sierra Club to urge a lobbying effort against the revised Illiana Expressway proposal that would build a new highway from I-65 to I-57 in Illinois, reports both the Post-Tribune and the Northwest Indiana Times.

Writes the Post-Tribune:

The group wanted a study to look at ways of revitalizing the urban communities in northern Lake County and to lessen congestion with mass transit, rather than building a new highway.

"There is a definite need for more funding for public transportation," said the Rev. Asher Harris, president of the Interfaith Council.

He called the coming together of the mixed group of activists a "powerful voice" to change the debate over the highway.

The NWI Times reports the alliance of North and South Lake County interests is historic.

"Today we are making history in Northwest Indiana," said the Rev. Asher Harris, president of the Interfaith Federation, a faith-based organization that focuses on creating equity and destroying concentrated poverty by effecting change in public policy and institutions.

"This is the first time citizen groups from Lake County and Porter County -- north and south -- have come together to speak with one powerful voice," Harris said.

The anti Illiana Expressway Toll Road coalition wants to stop Indiana Senate Bill 1 this year.

Yesterday, CAPIT backed away from one key ingredient that might be necessary to get buses and trains rolling -- a new tax supported by the mass transit supporters.

Maybe the compromise to make everyone happy will be to make plans for the eventual expansion of the Borman Expressway when it fills up with cross-country and Canada-to-Mexico traffic by obtaining additional right-of-way space north of the current highway since wetlands are located to the south. Express and local lanes could be added -- with maybe dedicated lanes for cross-country trucks. Additional lane capacity in the form of reversible lanes could also be an option for times when there are many outbound commuters or when truck traffic is heavy.

Continually improving the Borman Expressway would provide economic development opportunities for North Lake County as well as keeping the traffic flowing through Lake County.

In addition, maybe an on-demand jitney service could connect Gary, East Chicago, and Hammond with Valparaiso, Lowell, as well as other rural areas that have traditionally been under served by mass transit in the area, but that can't support full-fledged bus service yet.

Such a service would allow rural residents to access Lake County casinos, Indiana University Northwest, and Purdue University Calumet without the need to drive their cars. Routes could travel to both Porter Hospital campuses, Valparaiso University, and all of the cities and town in Porter County. A Lake County link to Porter County hospitals is important to serve patients and their families when they are hospitalized at Porter.

Links with the Gary Public Transportation Corporation should also be incorporated to provide residents with links to Illinois' Pace system, as well as the South Shore Line to build on the strength of existing mass transit systems.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway Illiana+Legislation Illiana+Toll+Road Interstate Transportation Public+Private+Toll+Roads
Interfaith+Federation Save+The+Dunes Dunelands+Sierra+Club
CAPIT

'Don't Pass Up Opportunity'

St. John resident Bob O'Leary urges support for a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to improve roads in Lake County in a letter to the Northwest Indiana Times:

A key ingredient for a region to prosper is a good infrastructure, good rail and especially good roads. We do not have good roads. The Borman is a nightmare. I know people who won't even drive on the road, and it's only going to get worse. An opportunity, that until recently, is suddenly within reach to achieve improved roads, something to build a new economy on... logistics, and now suddenly I fear we are about to blow this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

Does Illiana Fight Signal A Right & Left Alliance?

Editor's Note: This page located at ChristopherHedges.com is a favorite of content scrapers and thus this note that the original is located at my page.

Does the fight against the Illiana Expressway Toll Road signal an alliance between the right and left wings of American politics?

Environmental and urban core issue advocates seemingly have teamed up with people wary of a large new government project that has ties to international interests in a battle against what they see as a common foe.

The environmental and urban issues concerns are obvious. Roads could cut through wetlands and increase auto and truck traffic, causing more pollution. Urban issues advocacy groups fear new development could cause greater decay in more established cities as people and businesses move away from the urban core.

Here's where it gets interesting for some on the right who oppose interstate highway construction.

Some on the right fear a loss of U.S. sovereignty to multinational forces who seek increased Mexican and Canadian trade along so called NAFTA highways.

From John Newby, publisher of the LaPorte Herald Argus:

Is this entire project just a cover for another agenda, the NAFTA super highway?

While the maps for both the proposed Illiana and the NAFTA project in this area appear very similar, we should at least know and understand those issues as well.

If they aren’t related, that is fine. If they are related in anyway, Americans ought to have chills running down their spines. I’ve seen many remarks and comments concerning the NAFTA superhighway project.

However, most the comments I’ve seen are made out of ignorance of the facts and the agenda behind this massive redistribution of wealth.

For those wanting a brief education on the NAFTA superhighway, visit conservative Republican Congressman Ron Paul’s website located at www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2006/tst103006.htm.

It’s quite the eye-opener!

Here's what Rep. Paul (R-TX) writes:

The proposed highway is part of a broader plan advanced by a quasi-government organization called the “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America,” or SPP.

The SPP was first launched in 2005 by the heads of state of Canada, Mexico, and the United States at a summit in Waco.

The SPP was not created by a treaty between the nations involved, nor was Congress involved in any way. Instead, the SPP is an unholy alliance of foreign consortiums and officials from several governments. One principal player is a Spanish construction company, which plans to build the highway and operate it as a toll road. But don’t be fooled: the superhighway proposal is not the result of free market demand, but rather an extension of government-managed trade schemes like NAFTA that benefit politically-connected interests.

The real issue is national sovereignty. Once again, decisions that affect millions of Americans are not being made by those Americans themselves, or even by their elected representatives in Congress. Instead, a handful of elites use their government connections to bypass national legislatures and ignore our Constitution-- which expressly grants Congress the sole authority to regulate international trade.

The ultimate goal is not simply a superhighway, but an integrated North American Union -- complete with a currency, a cross-national bureaucracy, and virtually borderless travel within the Union. Like the European Union, a North American Union would represent another step toward the abolition of national sovereignty altogether.

I bet everyone in this coalition of diverse viewpoints allied against new highways is always careful to not bring up the sovereignty implications of the United Nation's Kyoto Protocol.

Copyright (C) 2007, Christopher C. Hedges, ChristopherHedges.com, All Rights Reserved.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway Illiana+Legislation Illiana+Toll+Road Interstate Transportation Public+Private+Toll+Roads

Tech Tags: NASCO Supercorridor NAFTA+highway I-80 I-94 The+International+Mid+Continent+Trade+Corridor

CAPIT Teams Up With Pro-Transit Groups, But Doesn't Support 1% Tax

Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Toll Road has teamed up with transit supporters, but remains neutral on a 1% food and beverage tax to pay for the public transit services, reports the Northwest Indiana Times.

A group opposing the proposed Illiana Expressway is has agreed to team up with the Interfaith Federation and Save the Dunes Council to support what they are calling smart growth across the Region.

Citizens Against Privatized Illiana Toll Road also is distancing itself from a claim that it supports a 1 percent food and beverage tax to support regional busing.

Dave Ahlberg, president of Citizens Against Privatized Illiana Toll Road, said the inaccurate claim was the result of a misunderstanding that arose when his group agreed to team up with the Interfaith Federation and Save the Dunes Council.

CAPIT is neutral on the proposed tax, he said. But the group does share the coalition's opposition to the Illiana Expressway project and the call for alternative forms of transportation.

"We're just a group of like-minded people in some areas," Ahlberg said.

CAPIT's support for the tax was included in a press release announcing a press conference today on the new coalition.

CAPIT's neutral tax position makes sense because it has often been argued that rural areas end up subsidizing urban mass transit without any corresponding benefits for those taxpayers.

It would be interesting if a rural mass transit system could be developed that would be self-supporting, that wouldn't encourage sprawl (a NIRPC document shows some complain a Lowell South Shore Line might cause sprawl), and would be able to meet the needs of people in areas less densely populated than urban and suburban areas. But, it is likely that any such system would require heavy taxpayer subsidies to be able to operate.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Transportation Public+Private+Toll+Roads CAPIT Road+Construction Corridors+Of+The+Future

Pursue Revised Illiana Plan Says Post-Tribune

Lake County needs the revised Illiana Expressway for Lake County's economic growth, says the editorial board of the Post-Tribune.

Although the governor has altered his plan, we encourage the many planning and economic development groups in Northwest Indiana to remain supportive of the revised proposal for the Illiana Expressway.

Given the demographics of the area between Lowell and the Kankakee River, the Illiana can be built with minimum disruption. If Lake County is to reach its potential economically, the Illiana must be part of the equation.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

Rose Blogs Her Anti-Illiana Position On Myspace

Myspace Rose from Valparaiso explains why she's against the Illiana Expressway Toll Road:

there are so many things wrong with the whole entire concept of building a new toll east of 65! it would be pointless to the general public.

all that would happen is the reopening of the proposal on the dump in boone grove!

i don't want a damn toll that would be pointless for me to us because i already have the means to get to chicago by the roads that already exist... they are called; I65, RT30, I80/94, RT130, RT49 and the current toll that ppl rarely use, 90. ...

next are the ppl who say that they would rather drive around chicago instead of through to avoid the traffic and this proposed toll road would help their problem. well... hum... how can i put this? you're an idiot.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

CAPIT Reports No April 4th Illiana Expressway Hearing

From the Citizens Against The Privatized Illiana Toll Road's Yahoo group:

When we receive important information from Indianapolis I like to confirm it with a second source, so sorry about the delay, but:

I just confirmed that Senate Bill 1 will NOT be heard by the House Transportation Committee and consequently, there will be no hearing April 4. Rather anti-climactic but good news regardless.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

Tully Critiques Governor's Illiana East Leg Defeat

Indy Star columnist Matt Tully critiques Gov. Mitch Daniels' Illiana (and Indiana Commerce Connector) defeats.

Even in defeat, don't think Daniels is crying. His office began calling allies to announce his decision Friday but released it to the media Saturday -- a move that guaranteed a big splash in the Sunday papers. A veteran of politics, Daniels knows how to bury news you want buried: Release it late on a Friday. He also knows Sunday papers are the best read.

Headlines across the state, essentially saying, "I heard you," don't hurt.

Plus, Daniels saved himself the headache and heartburn of more hearings, organized by Democrats and full of loud opposition to the toll roads.

If Daniels made the best of a losing situation, he deserves credit for doing it so gracefully. He didn't criticize opponents. He didn't question their motives. He took the high toll road.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

Casson's View: Rural Folks Stay Off Suburban Roads

Valparaiso's David Casson -- noted anti Iraq War advocate -- weighs in on the Illiana Expressway Toll Road debate with a letter to the Post-Tribune's editor in which he tells those opposed to highways to stay off of the suburban highways.

I can understand why those who live in the area of the proposed Illiana Expressway opposed it to safeguard their country lifestyle.

We who live north of them also enjoy our suburban lifestyle and wish to preserve it. It is the perfect balance between the rushed big-city life and the docile country life.

Therefore, we request that those who live in Old MacDonald Land please stay out of our area. ...

Please do not use our expressways or Toll Road, since they are so abhorrent to you. ...

Since you dislike our way of life in suburbia, please don't come up here and disrupt it.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

Does Mitch Daniels' New Illiana Plan Help His Reelection Chances?

Mark Kiesling at the Northwest Indiana Times thinks that Gov. Mitch Daniels' withdrawal of the east leg of the Illiana Expressway Toll Road might win him some Northwest Indiana votes in his reelection bid:

Would that have cost him the 2008 election? The Illiana would likely not. He doesn't pull huge votes out of Northwest Indiana anyway. ...

But in what could shape up to be a close race, by killing the eastern portion of the Illiana Daniels has made a couple thousand happy folks who will remember him as the guy who stood up for the little man.

"This is a great day for democracy," said Dave Ahlberg, head of Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Toll Road.

Daniels has won hearts and minds in the short run.

And that's all that counts when re-election is your Major Move.

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway

'We No Longer Want To Be The Silent Majority'

Pro Illiana Expressway Toll Road supporters plan an Indianapolis Statehouse lobbying effort to rival the anti Illiana effort planned by the Citizens Against The Privatized Illiana Toll Road, reports the Northwest Indiana Times.

Eighteen business groups ranging from the City of LaPorte to the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce signed on to the pro-Illiana lobbying effort this week, which will specifically target Northwest Indiana's delegation in the Indiana General Assembly.

"A project of this magnitude deserves its due diligence," said Vince Galbiati, president and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum. "Legislators hearing directly from the business community is essential."

Tech Tags: Illiana Illiana+Expressway+Toll+Road Illiana+Legislation Indiana+Senate+Bill+1 Interstate Indiana+Commerce+Connector Gov.+Mitch+Daniels Highway