By Thomas Vander Woude:
On October 4, the CMAP Transportation Committee voted affirmatively to recommend that the GO TO 2040 plan be amended to include the Illiana Corridor as a fiscally constrained major capital project. The vote was preceded by nearly two hours of discussion and a defeated motion against the amendment.
The action today was only the first in a series of votes that will determine whether the Illiana can continue to move through the federal approval process and, ultimately, to construction. The Transportation Committee will forward its recommendation to the Regional Coordinating Committee, which meets at 8:00 AM on October 9, and the CMAP Board, which meets at 9:30 AM on October 9. The MPO Policy Committee will meet on October 17 at 3:00 PM to take final action on the GO TO 2040 amendment. This body will consider, but is not bound by, the recommendations of the committees and the board.
All of these meetings will take place at the CMAP offices at the Willis Tower. If you would like to attend any of these and you do not regularly attend CMAP meetings, you may want to call the CMAP office ahead of time and ask that your name be placed on the security clearance list – 312-454-0400.
If you have any questions regarding the process, please contact Tom Vander Woude, Deputy Executive Director of Transportation and Infrastructure, at thomas.vanderwoude@ssmma.org or 708-922-4677.
In the Southtown Star:Â CMAP committee backs Illiana Expressway
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s transportation committee voted Friday to include the proposed Illiana Expressway on CMAP’s list of major transportation projects in its long-range regional plan.
The advisory vote precedes binding votes on the project from the CMAP Board and the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which are set to consider endorsing the proposed tollway at their Oct. 9 and Oct. 17 meetings, respectively.
Despite a CMAP staff recommendation against the project, the CMAP committee voted to amend the Go To 2040 regional plan to include the Illiana Expressway, which was omitted from the plan in 2010….Please click here to read Casey Toner’s full story in the Southtown Star.,