Politics & Government
Lake Co. Board Chair Pulls Support for Route 53 Extension Project
Chairman Aaron Lawlor on Monday says he no longer supports the project, which would extend Route 53 north to Grayslake.
Photo caption: Lake County Board Chair Aaron Lawlor
LAKE COUNTY, IL - Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor on Monday pulled his support for the Route 53 extension project, stunning officials in local communities and leaving the Illinois Tollway with the decision on whether to move forward with the roadway without a key backer, according to media reports.
Ultimately, tollway officials told the Daily Herald they would move forward with a $40 to $50 million feasibility study on the road project, which would extend Route 53 north to Grayslake, with plans to hire a consultant this year.
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“I am surprised by this (Lawlor’s statement),” Illinois State Highway Authority Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom told the Daily Herald. “But many of the questions that Chairman Lawlor raised would be answered by an EIS (environmental impact statement). An EIS will take a look at everything … It will cast a wide net and take into consideration all the factors and opinions. To prejudge it runs counter to what an EIS is.”
The plan to extend Route 53 has been in the works for decades but have been stalled over worries that the road project could “ruin quality of life in Lake County's suburban and rural communities and destroy rare habitats and wetlands,” according to the Lake County News-Sun.
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Lawlor on Monday said the price tag on the project continues to increase and he fears the Illinois Tollway would look to trim costs, which would keep the project from proceeding in an environmental-friendly way that was proposed, and which he originally supported in a 2012 report, according to the article.
Route 53 currently ends at Lake Cook Road in Buffalo Grove and the proposed extension plan would bring it up to Illinois Route 120 in Grayslake, which would add 25 miles of new roadway, according to the Chicago Tribune. The project is expected to cost between $2.3 billion and $2.6 billion and would run through the Heron Marsh in Long Grove and the Indian Creek Marsh in Hawthown Woods.
Here is a look at the proposed route for the extension project.
More via the Lake County News-Sun and the Daily Herald
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