Farmers Weekly Review

By Nick Reiher

Two days after the Will County Board, following months of impassioned testimony by residents, narrowly approved a reduced expansion plan for 143^rd Street in Homer Township, County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant vetoed the resolution.

Her office issued this statement on February 17:

“Incorrect reports have been made publicly that the County Executive signed and delivered this resolution with the intent to make it effective.

“While the resolution was signed in error, the County Executive did not authorize delivery to the Clerk’s Office as it was never the County Executive’s intention to return a signed resolution to the County Board. Instead, the County Executive exercised her veto powers authorized under the law, which is consistent with her public comments on media outlets following the County Board meeting.

“After consulting with legal counsel, the County Executive immediately contacted County Board leadership via email to make them aware of the error. In addition, the County Executive spoke to the County Board Chair and leadership to explain the situation and that a formal veto was forthcoming. County Board leadership acknowledged the error.

“Veto Message from the County Executive to the Will County Board:

Today I veto Resolution #24-27, which fails to address traffic demands and public safety. First, the expansion of this segment of 143rd Street has been a subject of discussion for over a decade. For many years, the Will County Board has recognized the need to address increased levels of traffic and the threats to public safety that exist on the current roadway.

The Will County Board has repeatedly provided a clear direction to the Will County Division of Transportation to pursue expansion in this segment of 143rd Street.

The full County Board has unanimously approved this project to proceed 10 separate times since 2009. Time and time again, the elected representatives that serve on the County Board, including those that represent the communities along 143rd Street, have voted for this project.

Following the unanimous direction of our elected legislative body, Will County has held a consistent position since 2009: That the existing two-lane road is a danger to the public, impedes the flow of traffic, and prevents the safe passage of residents throughout the county.

Second, based on the County Board’s direction, Will County has already expended over $6.2 Million on this project. The Will County Division of Transportation has expended time and resources on identifying a level of expansion that both creates a safer roadway and aligns with feedback received from the public and local elected officials during the project development.

Although several members of the board expressed a belief that the County should “cut our losses” on this project following years of consistent direction, I do not believe that individual board members changing their mind should come with a $6.2 million dollar price tag for the taxpayers.

Third, further, the votes made during the February 15 County Board meeting do not provide clear direction to County staff on how to proceed with this project. While Resolution #24-27 is misleadingly labeled as a directive to “cease” the expansion, the resolution is also calling for the Division of Transportation to proceed with a three-lane expansion.

The County Board later voted unanimously to include language within its legislative agenda that advocates for the use of quick-take proceedings for this project. This follows the statements made by several board members that no property should be acquired for this project.

It is not clear to what extent the County Board is in favor of continued acquirement of right-of-way property along this specific corridor, as these two resolutions are contradictory.

Fourth, compared to the years of research, public feedback, and legislative deliberation of the full 143rd Street expansion project, Resolution #24-27 does not provide a solution to the safety and traffic challenges that currently exist.

Decision-making in public service is never easy. In this case, I believe the necessary decision is to ensure the safety of Will County residents.

Therefore, pursuant to 55 ILCS 5/2-5010, I hereby return Resolution #24-27, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Asked for a comment, County Board Chair Judy Ogalla, R-Monee, said she had none at this time.

The County Board would need 14 votes to overturn the veto. The vote on February 15 to approve the resolution was 12 to 9 after a lengthy discussion following several hours of in-person and emailed testimony.

If the vote stood, it would mean the county’s portion of the plan would remain three lanes, while other parts surrounding it from Interstate 355 east into Orland Park will be five lanes.

The vote followed an ironically lengthy discussion about whether to shorten the meeting by entering hundreds of letters into the official record instead of reading them, staff took a couple hours reading each missive, most against the widening of the county’s portion of 143rd Street in Homer Township from three to five lanes.

This followed about an hour of in-person testimony on the issue, once again dominated by opponents of the plan.

The segment in question, between State Street/Lemont Road and Bell Road, is in the final segment of the widening and reconstruction of 143rd Street Corridor plan begun in 1991.

The Will County Board has supported the five-lane plan at least nine times since that time, and has spent $6.2 million so far. The county also has the promise of a $7 million grant toward the project, estimated to cost $58 million, with an additional $5 million to $6 million for engineering, said Jeff Ronaldson, Will County Transportation Director.

But after months of opposition from residents in Homer Township, the Public Works and Transportation Committee on February 6 vote to recommend the resolution forgoing that plan and instead build three lanes, with the third being a turn lane.

Opponents say the larger plan would mean more traffic through their area, eliminating what rural areas are left. They added the five-lane plan was devised before 159th Street two miles to the south was fully developed.

Yet, those supporting the five-lane plan say the traffic will coming regardless, now that there is an interchange at Interstate 355 and 143rd Street. Not widening the road as other parts already have been could be a safety issue, they say, with a three-mile bottleneck.

Ronaldson has said the county is in negotiation for right-of-way for the project. Construction can begin after that’s completed. He said acquisition would not re-locate any homes; the same right-of-way would be needed if the County Board were to approve the three-lane plan instead.

Officials from Orland Park just to the east have been eager for the five-lane plan to proceed, since it would provide a widened road from I-355 through their village. It also was pointed out the larger plan was supported by representatives of surrounding communities interested in a regional traffic plan.

But those opposed to the widening said they don’t care about other communities.

“Homer Glen is not Orland Park’s truck route,” one said at the February 6 committee meeting.

Ronaldson also said the county would lose $7 million in federal funding because that amount would not available for anything less than the 5-lane cross section nor for another project.

Hugh O’Hara from the Will County Governmental League has said the allocation would go back to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which would allocate it to another project in the region. He also said since Will County never has rejected funding before, it might cause CMAP to call into question future requests.

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review.