Disrupting Lights From Burr Ridge Business: Expert

BURR RIDGE, IL – Residents in a Burr Ridge neighborhood on Monday renewed their complaints about light and noise from a truck hub.

Saia LTL Freight, which is along Interstate 55, is near the Chestnut Hills townhome subdivision.

On Monday, residents told the Village Board about their issues with the hub. They brought a consultant who specializes in light.

Consultant Ken Walczak, a manager at Chicago's Adler Planetarium, said he trusted that Saia is not trying to be a bad neighbor.

"Yes, there is a significant light trespass issue, especially for the south-facing residents at Chestnut Hills Circle," said Walczak, a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society. "For any reasonable person, it is disrupting."

It would not take much change to the lighting infrastructure to solve the problem, he said.

Years ago, the village annexed the area with the Saia hub. The company agreed to lessen light and noise pollution.

Now, the company is acting as if no annexation agreement exists, Chestnut Hills resident Steve Less told the board.

"They seem to be doing whatever they want to do," he said. "You can tell by the people here that we are frustrated."

Donna Ryan, who heads the subdivision's association, said the business could eliminate backup beepers and deaden the noise from metal dock plates.

She suggested the village develop a working relationship with the local hub manager, rather than working through the corporate headquarters in Georgia.

"It would work much better," Ryan said. "It would save your time and save us the frazzle."

Village officials promised to work with residents.

"We need to get on top of this. I think we'll make it an agenda item," Mayor Gary Grasso said. "We'll attack it to your level of satisfaction."

Chestnut Hills residents most recently spoke about Saia at a Village Board meeting in February 2025.