Elk Grove, Bensenville residents rally for O'Hare ring road

Busloads of residents lobbied the Illinois Department of Transportation Wednesday to pick a design for a bypass around O'Hare International Airport connecting I-90 and I-294 that doesn't have a huge impact on their community.

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson gave 33,400 comment cards on the issue to IDOT Bureau Chief of Programming Pete Harmet.

"This is a truly remarkable day where we're uniting together for what's right," Johnson said. He said state officials told him the largest number of comments they've received on an issue before was 10,000.

Johnson got backing from residents of his town as well as those from Bensenville.

"In today's economy, why would you want to eliminate businesses?" asked Elk Grove Village homeowner Jerry Glaubitz.

IDOT is exploring options for extending the Elgin O'Hare Expressway east from Itasca to the airport and constructing a western bypass.

One design that would widen Route 83/Busse Road into a major expressway has drawn objections from Elk Grove Village leaders who contend it will divide their business park in half and slash tax revenues. They were joined by Bensenville officials and a large crowd outside an IDOT public meeting on the project in Elk Grove Village.

State planners say the two projects will improve a heavily traveled area with substantial traffic that's hamstrung by partial highway interchanges, limited public transit and at-grade crossings. But because the area is so built-up, there's great concern about what construction will mean for homes, businesses and industries in its path.

Ideally, the plan will "relieve congestion, minimize the impact to the environment and have strong public support," Harmet said. "The public input is very important; it makes this a strong process."

Costs for the work range from $2.1 billion to $3.6 billion.

For the Elgin O'Hare portion, IDOT envisions widening Thorndale into an expressway into the airport.

Scenarios for the north portion of the bypass include: widening Route 83 between the Elgin O'Hare and I-90; widening York Road from the Elgin O'Hare to I-90; and building a highway on land located at the airport's western edge and near railroad right-of-way connecting to I-90.

Bensenville residents also oppose the York Road proposal, saying it would destroy a vital part of their community.

Bensenville resident Bill Edenhofer was skeptical the state would be able to pay for the work.

"They've got no money," he said. "The whole thing stinks."

IDOT is looking at a variety of plans for the south leg of the bypass to the Tri-State Tollway. Options include: widening Route 83 south from the Elgin O'Hare to meet I-290; building an elevated expressway following County Line Road to I-294; building an expressway either east or west of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and building an expressway over the UP tracks.

Elected officials and residents who came to the rally support the bypass design that uses airport property in the north segment and in the south would put the expressway east of the railway tracks.

Johnson's presentation of the 33,400 cards to IDOT was interrupted by atheist activist Rob Sherman, who loudly criticized Northwest Suburban High School District 214 leaders for asking students to support the village's position and sign the cards.

The Buffalo Grove resident, who was escorted outside by authorities, then let back in, has a daughter in District 214. He said the district failed to fully inform students about the project and was going behind parents' backs.

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