'Dangerous' La Grange Junction Blamed On McCook Industry

LA GRANGE, IL – A pair of La Grange trustees on Monday questioned why the village was paying more than neighboring Brookfield and McCook for improvements to 47th Street and East Avenue.

La Grange's jurisdiction is the west side of the intersection, while Brookfield and McCook take up the northeast and southeast sides, respectively.

The state is planning to improve the intersection, including installing a traffic light.

Under the plan, the state is estimating that the federal government would pay $11.5 million toward the project, while Illinois would chip in $2.9 million.

La Grange would spend $282,900, while McCook and Brookfield would contribute $202,100 and $85,100, respectively.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, Trustee Beth Augustine suggested that McCook chip in more, saying the heavy trucks are coming from that village.

"Twelve years ago, there wasn't this giant industrial park with all of these trucks coming down our way," she said. "So now we've got this really busy, heavy, dangerous intersection."

Trustee Glenn Thompson questioned why La Grange was picking up the entire $9,000 tab for "emergency vehicle preemption" equipment. This allows emergency responders to get green lights when approaching.

He said most of the ambulances crossing the intersection are from Brookfield, McCook or other towns going to the La Grange hospital.

Richard Colby, the village's public works director, said many of the costs are based on where the controller will be, which is in La Grange.

"Where the infrastructure lives, where the controller is, that's where the cost is assigned," he said.

Despite the concerns, the Village Board unanimously approved an agreement calling for the village to pay its share of the costs. Residents have called for upgrades to the intersection for years.