Elgin looks at add King Drive of its own to city

Elgin city leaders hope to rename a street to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

Whether it will be an existing street or new road has not been determined, but the idea has support from the city council.

"It's long overdue," council member David Kaptain said.

Added council member Robert Gilliam: "It's a positive thing. It would be appropriate for us to do it."

Ina Dews, a longtime resident and city human relations commission member, suggested the move last week.

She said she traveled through 18 states last year by bus and train. More towns than not had a street named after the slain civil rights leader, often main thoroughfares, Dews said.

It was then that she realized Elgin did not have a street named for King.

The city staff is studying the matter. The earliest it could provide a recommendation is at Wednesday's meeting.

Deciding which street -- and how much of it -- could pose a challenge.

Naming a yet-to-be-paved road after King could isolate it to a secluded subdivision, but renaming an existing road could cause headaches for residents and businesses that already have established addresses on letterhead, signage and more.

Kaptain said he supports officially renaming a street, not just tacking an additional sign on an existing road.

"The name of the street should change. It shouldn't be a sign hanging underneath it," he said.

Gilliam said he prefers to hear what the city staff recommends.

After Chicago Bear legend Walter Payton died in 1999, some lawmakers floated the idea of renaming Route 34 after him.

But that idea never gained steam as business owners feared they would have to change letterheads, cards and advertising.

The village of Glen Ellyn in DuPage County avoided that problem when it renamed a one-mile stretch of 22nd Street after former longtime state Sen. Beverly Fawell in spring 2001.

There are no homes along that stretch of road and the only entity that had to change its address was the College of DuPage, of which Fawell was a trustee at the time.

Curt Barrett, acting Glen Ellyn village manager, said that was one factor considered when naming the new Fawell Boulevard.

"If your looking for a place to rename, you want to lessen any unintended consequences," he said. "You want it to be positive thing."