Editorial:Transportation investment pays dividends in south suburbs

From left: CSEDC Board Chairman Michael Scholefield, SSMMA Executive Director Edward Paesel, Lynwood Mayor Eugene Williams and SSMMA Director of Transportation Thomas Vander Woude at a tour of the interchange during final construction. Image courtesy of Zona “Bunny” Anderson

We all know transportation is the lifeblood of the Chicago Southland.

For the past 30 years, the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association has planned and advocated for investment in our transportation infrastructure. This includes megaprojects such as the I-57/I-294 interchange, the South Suburban Airport, the Illiana Expressway and the Southeast Service Commuter Rail Line, as well as smaller, strategic investments in our local roads. These projects are of massive importance to the economic well-being of the Southland.

On behalf of our 43 member municipalities in southern Cook and eastern Will Counties, I am proud to say the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association’s work is bearing fruit.

Most notably, the new I-57/I-294 interchange opened to traffic in late October…Please click here to read Ed Paesel’s editorial in the Times.