14th Congressional candidates won't back Prairie Parkway

Opponents of the Prairie Parkway may have a friend in Congress no matter what the outcome is of the 14th Congressional District race on Election Day next month. Three of the four candidates said Wednesday they are against the project and would divert funding toward work on Route 47.

Incumbent Democrat Bill Foster and challengers Randy Hultgren, a Republican, and Dan Kairis, of the Green Party, all took stances against the Prairie Parkway Wednesday. Write-in candidate Doug Marks was unavailable for comment.

The Prairie Parkway would create a 37-mile, four-lane highway connecting Interstates 80 and 88 and run through Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties. The estimated price tag is $3.26 billion. County governments have been supportive of the project, while some farmers and residents in the proposed footprint have gone as far as filing suit to block the project.

Now, all they may need to do is cast a November ballot to see the project fizzle.

Foster said his polling of the communities potentially impacted by the Prairie Parkway shows people generally believe the project isn't a good use of tax dollars.

“I do not support the Prairie Parkway, Foster said. “I'm working to get those funds moved to improve (Route) 47, which everyone agrees is a mess. That's something where you can fix it up piece by piece. We're just trying to, piece by piece, make Route 47 a very high quality corridor so we don't get caught up in a Randall Road-like situation.

A study released on the Illinois 47 Corridor in May also showed wide governmental support for plans to preserve open space and farmland along Route 47 while confining business growth to the 15 municipalities it touches. Those communities are projected to grow by 440 percent by 2030.

Hultgren said he, too, thinks the Prairie Parkway is “the wrong direction to go. He also supports shifting funds to improve Route 47 and extending the Metra rail line out to Oswego.

“Kendall County is one of the fastest growing counties, Hultgren said. “They absolutely need a rail station in Oswego. I commend Congressman Foster for supporting that. I just don't know why it took so long. That's something we need to be on from the first day.

Kairis said his main opposition to the Prairie Parkway is the people standing to make a profit from the land deals involved in the project.

“Too few people were making too much money at the cost of the taxpayers for me to support that, Kairis said. Kairis believes the future of transportation in the district relies on electric vehicles with batteries that could be changed at local gas stations.

“We're not going to get people to use just rail, just public transportation, Kairis said. “Our system isn't set up for that.

Because of that, Kairis is not a fan of Metra's STAR Line. The STAR Line is a 55-mile suburban route that would run through Joliet, Plainfield, Naperville, Aurora, West Chicago and continue on to Hoffman Estates. Kairis said he doesn't believe the line would ever see enough ridership to fund the cost of creating it. Both Hultgren and Foster support funding the STAR Line.