Making a winning connection with voters in Kane County’s District 23 may require building an actual connection over the Fox River in the form of the Longmeadow Parkway. The two candidates for the county board seat differ on how big the bridge should be and how much it should cost drivers to use it.
Incumbent Republican Maggie Auger supports the current vision for the parkway. That includes a $1.50 toll to fund the $135 million bridge.
(Democratic challenger Kevin Smith) said he won’t support the bridge in its current form, particularly the toll concept, unless an advisory referendum shows that’s what people support. He is a fan of shrinking the bridge to just two lanes to cut the cost down to a bridge that doesn’t need tolls. If use warrants a future expansion, the county already owns most of the land for that, he said.
Read more here.
The section of Longmeadow Parkway that will empty thousands of cars daily through the Village should be renamed “The Robert G. Abboud Parkway”. This is the legacy of Abboud, Gohl, Selman and Meroni. Sadly, property values along Algonquin Road in the Village have been destroyed. Residents didn’t see it coming, thanks to Abboud and his cronies on the Board keeping the issue quiet as Bobby sought votes in McHenry County in his unsuccessful congressional bid (he lost 35% to 65% against Don Manzullo). Large, uncontrolled commercial boarding could have the same effect on property values. Huge prices to pay for not paying attention to what is going on at Village Hall.
Carlos, you fail to mention Trustee Messer. Are we to assume Trustee Messer raised concerns about LMP and VBH’s conspicuouos absence from the LMP Advisory Board?
While Trustee Messer has been quite vocal recently about “VBH BOT conduct and ethics”, “change in Village Attorney” and “Village appointments”, before the successful election of VBH Pres. McLaughlin, I do not recall Trustee Messer ever being vocal about anything including former VBH Pres. Abboud’s deafening silence on the plan to bring LMP through VBH.
What residents are now learning is the price paid for electing BOT candidates submissive to Abboud. It has resulted not only in loss of “hundreds of acres of land in VBH” but the physical division of VBH (Northside and Southside) through imminient construction of LMP. This, in addition to the waste of literally Millions of taxpayer dollars on senseless litigation, on-going employment of independent counsel, increase in size of Village government etc. (localizing police pension while on BOT through referendum, 911 center, creating additional VBH government boards and continued reliance on attorneys in routine matters as well as self-inflicted wounds, etc).
Rather than challenge Abboud obediant servants like Trustee Meroni commited the cardinal sin of trying to pawn VBH financial obligations to outside government sources in an attempt to cover-up VBH financial woes brought upon by Abboud failed policies going so far as trying to change Village road designations through application of road design by Village engineer Gewalt-Hamilton with the inclusion “bicycle lanes” on the proposed Haegar’s Bend road project. When caught, Trustee Meroni began the “spin” by laying blame at the feet of the newest non “Save 5 Acre” member of the BOT.
During the year 2004, the VBH BOT approved a capital road project plan whereby all roads owned by VBH would be “repaired or replaced” by the year 2014. That sufficient funds would be on hand through initial modest increase in the “levy” during the early years of this project without need for later increases. These early increases in the levy were made by BOT but somehow this money never made its way to our roads.
The LMP will be a “newly paved road” without cost to VBH taxpayers. At least it can be said with the LMP, Abboud and “Save 5 Acre” BOT made good on a portion of their promise to VBH residents.
David Stieper
I just saw this today…. Have you seen the virtual flyover video of how Longmeadow Parkway is conceptualized? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RHF7biwi9U&feature=youtu.be
Just watched the video. Wow that takes a wide strip of land! And bike paths just waiting to connect to Barrington Hills roads.