116 Hamilton Place Vernon Hills, IL 60061-1041 March 2, 1999
	Sierra Club Woods & Wetlands Group

Representatives:

The Woods and Wetlands group of the Sierra Club promotes enjoyment and protection of the environment in the north east Illinois region. Our nearly 2,000 members grow increasingly impatient for relief from traffic congestion. Yet we are unwilling to sacrifice the wetlands and other wildlife habitat in the heart of Lake County to a tollway extension that the Crossroads Study has clearly shown will be ineffective. Instead, we favor measures to redirect development to urban areas, discipline new development to access mass transit, fortify our existing road network, and expand opportunities for non-motorized transportation.

IDOT claims that there is insufficient funding to address the SRA expansion this area needs. Indeed, the recently completed Chicago Area Transportation Study summarized that most of the funds available between now and 2020 will be used to merely maintain our existing roads. With such an austere budget for the SRA improvements that IDOT, and even ISTHA agree we will need, with or without the Rt. 53 Extension, we are outraged that IDOT is instead committing resources to the questionable tollway. Conservative estimates count $39M for tollway right of way, $12M for Engineering and environmental impact studies, $26M for roads serving the proposed extension, and $50M to reconstruct a perfectly good segment of Rt. 120. Considering typical cost overruns, IDOT’s commitment will likely approach $250M before completion. That’s $250M that will not be spent on the improvements that everyone agrees we need, but which IDOT says it can’t afford. Add to this $8M for the thinly disguised "Lake County Transportation Improvement Project" promotional campaign for Rt. 53 funded by IDOT and ISTHA, and you begin to understand why we are convinced that ISTHA should be paying for the services received from IDOT.

These heavy investments continue in spite of the expectation that proposed project will not satisfy the federal minimum environmental impact requirements.

For these reasons we are extremely pleased  that HB2800 has been proposed to require the ISTHA to justify their financial decisions on the merit of their work rather than by parasiting funds from IDOT. Tollways and tolls should be used to positively influence travel choices by imposing the true costs of transportation at the point of use. This bill helps maintain truth in accounting for the costs of the service rendered.

Thank you for your effort to reform the Toll Highway Authority. Please support this legislation.

Evan L. Craig Chair