Real hazard is the dam at Busse Lake

Watching the Elk Grove Village board talk of how fantastic their new public safety building will be makes many residents irate. Spending over $30 million dollars to build a new police station to satisfy the requirement for windows in the jail cells is totally ridiculous to many residents. There are also luxury executive offices being built that would put many CEO offices to shame.

The thing that upsets the educated residents most is that while the village calls this a public safety improvement, the most dangerous hazard near Elk Grove Village goes unfunded and totally neglected. The hazard that exists is just to the north of Elk Grove Village in Busse Woods.

The dams for Busse Lake in the forest preserve are listed on the federal government's watch list for dams that are not built to withstand any kind of a tremor or earthquake. Dams with this classification are listed for their potential for loss of life and property.

Northern Illinois is long overdue for an earthquake. A failure of any one of the dams would cause a 10-foot tall wall of water to wash through the center of Elk Grove Village along Salt Creek, taking bridges, homes, parks and possibly Elk Grove High School along for the ride.

I would urge all residents of Elk Grove Village to express their outrage at this mismanagement of our tax money and call for Elk Grove Village to immediately fund a study to determine what needs to be done to reinforce or rebuild the dams in Busse Woods. Elk Grove Village needs to immediately inform the Cook County Forest Preserve, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers of this hazard and request immediate assistance.

It seems that our board in Elk Grove Village is more concerned with building their own legacy to boost their egos instead of looking out for the residents true safety!

Jeffrey Snyder

Elk Grove Village