Special Announcements

Update!--Public Meeting on Quentin Road Reconstuction Project

All Cook County residents are welcome to attend this public meeting to voice our concern over the effect of the Quentin Road reconstruction project on the Deer Grove Forest Preserve!

The public hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at the Makray Memorial Golf Club, 1010 S. Northwest Highway, Barrington, IL 60010. The hearing is scheduled from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. The Public Hearing format is as an open house, as such there will not be a formal presentation. However, there will be a 15-minute slide show which will be shown every 20 minutes. The slide show will describe the purpose of the hearing, discuss the history of the project, and give a preview of what exhibits will be on display. In the main banquet room there will be exhibits that show the proposed plans, describe the project schedule and history, present existing and future traffic projections, and some renderings. There will be a comment area for people to leave written comments and a court reporter will be available to record comments. Consultant and Highway Department staff will be available to answer questions and discuss the project.

See below for more information. It will be very important to get a large turnout to show the county that the community is very concerned about the proposed road project.

Contact either Pete Jackson at (847) 577-4438 or beepjackson@sbcglobal.net or Barbara Hill at b.c.hill@comcast.net for questions.

Quentin Road Reconstruction Project

A proposal by the Cook County Highway Department to widen a one-mile stretch of Quentin Road through the Deer Grove Forest Preserve would have numerous adverse effects, according to plan documents and Pete Jackson of the Deer Grove Natural Area Volunteers.

• Loss of 7.75 acres of forest preserve land to easements

• Tree removal. About 2,000 trees (of 2 inches diameter at breast height or greater) would be cut down. Some of these are very large, old oaks and hickories. The road widening will be responsible for cutting down 899 of these trees; the remainder will be lost to the other parts of the project.

• Wetland damage. There are 8 wetlands adjacent to or spanning Quentin in the Deer Grove forest preserve. The project will destroy or harm all of them.

• Threat to endangered species. The Illinois Natural History Survey has confirmed that Blanding’s turtle, a state-threatened species, lives in the large wetland that the bridge spans. Degrading this wetland could extirpate the population.

• Increased pollution. The largest wetland, which is part of Salt Creek, is already overloaded with pollutants according to IEPA. More road/bridge will mean more road runoff of salt, oil, etc.

• Increased mortality of animals. The installation of curbs and gutters will form a barrier for frogs, salamanders, and turtles that cross the roadway and now will become trapped in the roadway where they will be run over.

• Damage to intact woodlands. The bike trail is proposed to run through a mature oak/hickory woodland.

Deer Grove, Cook County’s oldest forest preserve, is in Palatine. Quentin Road has been widened to four lanes both north and south of the preserve in recent years as development has spread through the area. As a result, rush-hour traffic frequently backs up. And the residents in several small neighborhoods on the east side of Quentin find left turns onto the road difficult and dangerous.

The Highway Department is seeking $3 million in federal highway funds to replace the bridge over the Salt Creek marsh and says that federal guidelines require the new bridge to be four lanes. The project also includes widening the road, moving the entrance to Deer Grove West, creating an asphalt bike trail on the west side of Quentin Road, and building an underpass for pedestrians, cyclists, and horses. The total cost is estimated at $7.5 million.

Benjamin Cox of Friends of the Forest Preserves says that several modifications to the plan would be less disruptive to the preserve and would serve the needs of preserve users and neighbors as well or better than the current plan. Cox and Jackson propose left-turn lanes or a center lane, putting the bike trail on the east side of Quentin instead of the west, leaving the car entrance in its current location, and building an overpass rather than an underpass. They further urge that the curbs and gutters be dropped from the plan, and that box culverts or other structures be added to enable reptiles and amphibians to cross Quentin instead of finding themselves trapped in the roadway.

The Cook County commissioners will need to approve the plan. In June 2008 the commissioners gave the plan preliminary approval, although a majority expressed opposition to the plan before voting to allow it to proceed. Commissioner Mike Quigley, who led the opposition based on the project’s environmental impact and its encouragement of additional traffic on Quentin Road, said, “This is an example of how the board is conflicted in its roles as county commissioners and forest preserve commissioners.” Commissioner Gregg Goslin, chair of the Real Estate committee, says that he is working with the Highway Department to reduce the environmental impact and that a public hearing will occur, most likely in January 2009.

Letters can be sent to Commissioner Gregg Goslin, Cook County Board, 118 N. Clark, Room 567, Chicago, IL 60602.

Northwest Cook County Group's Social Club

Interested in hanging out with like minded individuals while having an enjoyable time? If so, our new social group is for you. See our events page for more information!

Sierra Student Coalition

Are you a student looking for something fun and productive to do during your summer break? Sierra Student Coalition, the student run arm of the Sierra Club, holds annual student trainings during the summer. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow activists and to learn about grassroots organizing. These training sessions (known as SPROGs) are weeklong leadership training seminars for student Sierra Club group members. Trainers are fellow students who have experience with organizing on their own campuses. You will learn how to do things such as lobbying, organizing a campaign, working with the media, and building coalitions as well as many other important skills. This summer there will be four high school programs and two college programs. Please go to www.ssc.org for dates and information on how to register.

Shop On-Line and Help the NWCCG Fundraise!

Shop on-line for Sierra Club items and help the NWCCG raise funds for club programs! By clicking on the links on our shop page you can buy great Sierra Club items on Sierra Club's secure on-line store.

This page last revised on November 15, 2009

Copyright© 2009 Northwest Cook County Group, Illinois Chapter, the Sierra Club. The Northwest Cook County Group website designed and maintained by Joyce May. Please contact the webmaster at nwccg2webmaster@earthlink.net if you have any questions or find any problems regarding this website.

Quick Links

To contact the
NWCCG, e-mail
us at
nwccg@hotmail.com

Click here for the
"Take Action" section
of the national
Sierra Club website

Click here for the
Illinois Sierra Club
website

Click here to find
your elected officials