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Illiana Boondoggle Now Guaranteed to Cost Taxpayers At Least $250 Million
A recent agreement mandates electronic tolling for the Illiana, with no cash payment option. New toll roads, like this one near Durham, N.C., have electronic tolls and traffic counts far below...
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Quinn Tying State’s Hands to Preempt Potential Illiana Roadblocks
The fact sheet Quinn distributed to Illinois lawmakers and obtained by Crain’s and Capitol Fax. Governor Pat Quinn is doing everything he can to ensure that the Illiana Tollway will be built, no matter...
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CMAP Plan Update Includes Sobering Look at Region’s Funding Shortfall
The RTA estimates the CTA, Metra, and Pace need $20 billion to bring their transit systems into a “state of good repair.” Photo: CTA The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s GO TO 2040 regional...
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The Metra-Politan Perimeter Ride: Pedaling to Every Metra Line Endpoint
Taking a pit stop in Elburn, the western terminus of the UP West line. Photo: John Greenfield [This article also appeared as a cover story in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday...
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Preckwinkle, Environmental Groups Want CMAP to Drop Illiana
Virginia Hamman, a property owner who would be affected by the Illiana Tollway, asked the policy committee to vote against the project last year. The Sierra Club and other organizations intend to...
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CMAP Board Members Will Try to Boot Illiana Boondoggle From Regional Plan
Driving in northeastern Illinois is dropping 0.49 percent annually in recent years and increased at an annual rate of just 0.42 percent in the decade prior, but IDOT projects that driving will increase...
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Revolt Against Illiana Undeterred By IDOT’s Latest Scare Tactic
Board member Regan Freitag of Will County, telling the CMAP policy committee last year that the Illiana Tollway would destroy prime farmland in Will County and disrupt local access by slicing across...
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The Illiana Expressway Will Eat Itself
The Illiana Expressway fails on all measures — expected revenue, projected traffic — when looked at realistically. Unfortunately, Illinois and Indiana don’t look at it that way. Image: Parsons...
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Illiana Spurned Again By CMAP Board, Faces Another Vote Tomorrow
Elliott Hartstein, CMAP board vice chairman, says the Illiana is fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Steven Vance The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s board again passed on the Illiana Tollway,...
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Illiana Forced Into CMAP Regional Plan By Springfield, Suburban Reps
The MPO Policy Committee listened to a panel of speakers testify this morning. Photo: Steven Vance The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s MPO Policy committee today approved the Illiana...
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Seven Ways to Stop The Illiana Boondoggle
Graphic courtesy Metropolitan Planning Council. Two votes yesterday by a committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Chicagoland’s federally-designated regional planning organization,...
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Could Rauner Stop the Illiana Boondoggle? Sure. But Will He?
Rauner says he needs to “see the studies” on the Illiana before making a decision on whether it should continue. The Illiana Tollway, a joint proposal by the Illinois and Indiana departments of...
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Getting Closer to the End: Judge Nullifies Federal Approval of Illiana Tollway
One of the key phrases from Judge Alonso’s ruling. It’s looking like the nightmarish vision of a totally unnecessary, 47-mile highway cutting through prime Illinois farmland is not going to become a...
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Rauner Authorizes More Illiana Spending to “Wind Down” Project
Howard Learner, president of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, said the Illiana “gravy train” needs to end. Photo: ELPC Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill last week that authorizes spending...
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Rauner’s Latest Weird Illiana Move: Pushing for Tax Breaks to Contractors
Rauner has taken contradictory actions on the Illiana. Just what is he up to? Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has taken action to kill the wasteful, destructive Illiana Tollway, which his predecessor...
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The Illiana’s Latest Death Blow: Feds Dropping Their Appeal of Court Ruling
The Illiana’s high tolls would have driven motorists to use other routes instead. Photo: Tim Messer A new legal development may represent the final nail in the coffin for the wasteful, destructive...
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2015 Was a Great Year for Chicago Transportation and Public Spaces
The Bloomingdale Trail, aka The 606. Photo: Trust for Public Land [The Chicago Reader recently launched a new weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This...
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Will CMAP Stop Prioritizing Increasing Road Capacity in Next Regional Plan?
The GO TO 2040 regional plan says we should encourage transit use, but CMAP’s policy would allow road binging projects if they cost a minimum of $100 million, while applying a $250 million threshold on...
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Indiana Will Fund Rewriting Faulty Illiana Environmental Impact Statement
The Illiana’s high tolls would have driven motorists to use other routes instead. Photo: Tim Messer The Illiana Tollway, a proposed highway boondoggle that would run through land south of the Chicago...
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Just in Time for Halloween: The Illiana is Becoming a “Zombie Highway”
IDOT’s own studies showed that few people would drive on the Illiana Tollway because steep toll rates would be required to cover construction costs. Image: Walking Dead/AMC A new filing in the court...
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