Swami:
I have to drive from the middle of Lake County to the middle of DuPage County all the time, so I've been waiting my entire adult life for Route 53 extension. I voted for that referendum on election day and I'm wondering when I can plan on rolling down to Itasca without stopping at 75 red lights north of Lake Cook Road. Please advise.
Mobile in Mundelein
Dearest Mo:
Unfortunately for the huddled motorists yearning to breathe free, there is a great leap of reality between an "Advisory Question of Public Policy" and a $1.86 billion public works project (2003 estimate).
Some are saying nothing will happen for at least 10 years because of the costs and logistics involved. What they should be saying is that the regional economy could use, say, a $1.86 billion public works project to perk things up, from the construction trades to the commercial development sector.
And if you think Tuesday's vote was nothing more than symbolism, let us recall this quote from then-chief tollway muckety-muck Jack Hartman when asked in 2004 why Will County got an Interstate 355 extension but Lake County was still waiting for its salvation: "There isn't the same consensus on Route 53 north yet."
There is now. Unless you think a 75-25 vote is a squeaker. (By the by, if you want to check out exactly where the puny opposition came from, check out this hilarious map).
The crystal ball says that you will cruise from Mundelein to Itasca on a new ribbon of roadway in ... 2014. Load up the I-PASS.
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