The litany of alleged horribles the greenies and their minions have cited is typical.
Predictably, Chicago’s greenies have found another highway to despise.
It’s the proposed and needed Illiana toll road in the far south suburbs, linking Interstate Highway 55 in southern Will County, the proposed south suburban airport and I-65 in southern Lake County, Ind.
Sadly, their opposition has more to do with ideology than reality. More sadly, they have effectively rallied their forces, raising the distinct possibility that this necessary regional infrastructure improvement will be permanently snuffed out. Even sadder, it’s another slight of the Southland — the part of the Chicago region that traditionally stands last in line, hat in hand.
The litany of alleged horribles the greenies and their minions have cited is typical and tiresome. Building the new highway, they say, will encourage suburban sprawl and pollute the environment. Forget growth; fix what we’ve got. Don’t forget global warming.
The opposition includes three environmental groups — Openlands, Sierra Club and Midewin Heritage Association — that are trying to get a federal judge to kill the road. The Metropolitan Planning Council is lending its substantial eminence among greenies to the opposition. Letter writers and blog posters nod in obeisance. The usual…Please click here to read Dennis Byrne’s full column in the Chicago Tribune.