Letter: Thank you, IDOT, for meeting
The Illinois Department of Transportation, led by Secretary Randy Blankenhorn, deserves credit for organizing an ambitious listening tour hitting dozens of cities around Illinois in May, including in Grayslake on May 1st as part of the Lake County Transportation Alliance annual meeting.
The well-attended session in Grayslake conveyed the need for consistent funding that will enable chipping away at the backlog of rough state roads and local streets and upkeep of transit facilities in the Chicago area. Also conveyed was for IDOT to make continued progress on the Alliance-backed Lake County State Highway Widening Consensus List.
The improvement of these roads will put a dent into reducing congestion which is time-wasted for Lake County residents and a negative for our business attraction efforts.
We appreciate IDOT taking the time to hear about our transportation needs and I am encouraged that the message seems to be resonating with our leadership in Springfield. The work by the Transportation for Illinois Coalition has provided statewide information to legislators and the governor that is useful for discussion about a long-term, stable and secure plan to fund investments for our roads and transit.
The time to act is now, not when our transportation assets have aged and the cost to restore them will have skyrocketed.
Marty Buehler
Executive Director, Lake County Transportation Alliance