County Board Office 18 North County Street 10th Floor Waukegan, Illinois 60085 Phone 647 360 6336 Fax 647 360 7322 COPY

Governor George Ryan
State of Illinois
Springfield, IL

Dear Governor Ryan:

We the undersigned members of the Lake County Board are writing to express our support for your tollway reform agenda.

The Northeast Illinois region is in desperate need of congestion relief. Like you, we believe that the best way to achieve this relief would be to expand the I-PASS system and eliminate toll booths.

We are also writing to express our support for alternatives to the proposed 53 extension.

The 53 extension would needlessly destroy some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in Lake County. Several organizations, including the Lake County Transportation Improvement Project, have identified alternatives that would relieve more traffic congestion than the 53 extension for less money and with far less environmental impact.

Building the 53 extension would require a huge system-wide toll hike and waste the limited resources of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority at a time when It needs to focus on repairing and improving the existing system. It’s clear to us that the alternatives to 53 provide the best transportation solutions for Lake County.

Sincerely,