BY DAVE PARRO
Two down, one to go.
Despite Kendall County being one of the obvious next places to locate a landfill in the Chicago region, developers can't seem to get it right. In the latest setback, a County Board committee recommended that the Waste Management proposal be rejected because the company hasn't done enough to protect the public's health and safety.
After the fiasco in Yorkville that ended in defeat a few months back, only one developer remains. At least for now.
Only the landfill proposed by Lisbon Development, a spin-off of Detroit-based Soave Enterprises, still remains. That site is located near the Waste Management proposal in the southeastern part of Kendall County. Lisbon was the final of the three to file a petition but could be the last developer standing in this high-stakes game of waste-hauling.
Of course, other developers could still come forward. Kendall County is one of the only collar counties that doesn't have a landfill yet, and other dumps elsewhere are quickly filling up or have already closed. The counties that do have landfills feel like they've already done their part, and now it's someone else's turn to host everyone else's trash. And there's millions to be made, so everyone wants a piece.
Elected officials in Yorkville and, to a lesser extent, Kendall County have been too secretive about these landfills, holding closed-door meetings when the public should have been fully informed. But it looks like they are being highly selective and critical of these proposals, which is crucial when you're dealing with something like a landfill.
Kendall County may very well eventually be home to a dump. But at least it will be a good one, if there is such a thing.
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