Carpentersville bridge now a Chicago-area award-winner
The Main Street Bridge is a work of art over the Fox River in Carpentersville, with its decorative cement handrails, extra-wide sidewalks and antique lampposts.
Members of the American Public Works Association-Fox Valley Branch thought the site was impressive when it awarded the reconstruction a Project of the Year designation for transportation projects in the $2 million to $10 million category last month.
And now members of the organization's Chicago Metropolitan chapter agree.
That area-wide chapter awarded the $3.2 million overhaul of the 70-year-old span Project of the Year designation for the Chicago metropolitan area, said Scott Marquardt, Carpentersville village engineer.
The village's other Fox Valley Branch-winning project, the reconstruction of Sleepy Hollow Road, was nominated but did not win in the category of projects under $2 million.
Main Street bridge is a jewel in Carpentersville, if not the Fox River region, and it deserves all accolades it collects. Though the project closed the bridge down for months, the end result was well worth the wait.
Cutting ties with lobbyist: After seeing no federal money come into their hands in the past two years, the Carpentersville village board Tuesday night decided to sever all ties with its lobbyist, Russ Reid Co. in Washington, D.C.
The village had been paying the company about $10,000 per month.
Since the lobbyist had not been able to garner federal funding for various projects, Russ Reid offered to provide its services for free -- well, almost.
Russ Reid would have required the village to cover expenses, which could range from the cost of a Metro subway trip to Capitol Hill to the cost of a flight to Carpentersville to meet with village staff.
But that was not a good enough deal for three of the four board members on hand for Tuesday night's board meeting.
Trustees Judy Sigwalt, Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski and Village President Bill Sarto voted against adopting the resolution.
Trustee Ed Ritter voted in favor of adopting the resolution and continuing to use the lobbying firm's services.
Sarto said given the state of Washington right now -- and the fact that at least two of the potential presidential candidates have said they would not work with lobbyists or special interests groups -- it would behoove the village to end its relationship with the Washington, D.C.,company.
Sen. Barack Obama has said he will not work with special interest groups,and Sen. John McCain continues to assert his stance against lobbyists.
The decision seems to be a good one. Spending $10,000 a month in a village that desperately needs funds to save its capital improvement projects and repay debt services doesn't make sense.
The village had hired the company to try and squeeze out some federal funding for three projects, including the building of a new public works facility.
• Larissa Chinwah covers Carpentersville, East Dundee and West Dundee. To reach her, call (847) 931-5722, or e-mail lchinwah@dailyherald.com.