March 07--Barney Faletti's house wouldn't have to be razed to make way for the Illiana toll road, but that's little comfort. The proposed highway would cut through his neighbor's farm field, passing within about 150 feet of Faletti's Wilmington home. His idyllic riverfront haven would be spoiled. His property value would tank.
For what? A privatized trucking highway that Illinois doesn't need and can't afford. Regional planners warn that the Illiana wouldn't carry enough traffic to pay for itself, leaving taxpayers on the hook for up to $1.1 billion in subsidies.
It's the sort of wasteful spending we're counting on Gov. Bruce Rauner to halt or, in this case, prevent. And like the property owners along the 50-mile Illiana corridor, we've seen some encouraging signs.
Randy Blankenhorn, Rauner's pick to lead the Illinois Department of Transportation, is no cheerleader for the Illiana. Blankenhorn's last job was as executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. It was CMAP's staff that called baloney on the rosy projections used to justify the Illiana.
The highway, which would connect Interstate 55 in Will County to I-65 in Lake County, Ind., was envisioned as an alternative to congested I-80. But few truckers will be willing to detour 10 miles out of their way and pay tolls that could run up to $50. Under the public-private arrangement brokered by IDOT, the state would have to make up the difference if -- make that when -- toll revenues come up short.
A thumbs down from CMAP's staff should have ended the discussion. But the agency's board was overruled by a state policy committee chaired by former IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider, who was appointed by then-Gov. Pat Quinn.
Team Quinn didn't care a whit for CMAP's analysis, even though it was based on IDOT's own projections. That's because Quinn's support for the Illiana was all about appealing to Southland voters, who were assured the project would be an economic bonanza. That, too, is a fantasy. The project would create only a few thousand jobs, most of them temporary and most of them in Indiana.
Quinn lost the election anyway. And the first thing Rauner did after taking office was issue an executive order that suspended interstate construction projects, pending a review of their costs and benefits. That prompted IDOT's counterpart in Indiana to suspend its part of the project until Rauner decides whether to move forward.
As we've said many times, this is a no-brainer. A coalition of business, labor and transportation groups that's pushing for a new capital funding plan says Illinois needs to spend another $1.8 billion a year to maintain and upgrade to its infrastructure. Rising construction costs and dwindling federal dollars have left the state with a backlog of needs, from roads and bridges to transit cars to pothole repairs.
There's no room on that list for a toll road nobody would use.
Rauner's capital budget still includes millions for consulting and other costs associated with the Illiana, pending the staff review that should have taken all of five minutes. We're sure the governor is hearing from Southland lawmakers, local officials, construction unions and developers who want the project to go forward.
Meanwhile, Faletti and others who live in the path of the Illiana are still twisting in the wind. To see what the project would do to them, check out this flyover video: chicagotribune.com/flyover.
Go ahead, Governor. Kill the Illiana. It would be a big relief to those property owners -- and to Illinois taxpayers.
