BY NICKLAUS LOVELADY
News-Democrat (Tuesday, March 22, 2005)
A court hearing last week and a proposed state law have given hope to opponents of the state's transportation corridors.
Corridors are areas identified by transportation officials as sites where roads could be built in the future.
In the metro-east, some residents are opposed to the corridor for the Gateway Connector, which is proposed to run through Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties.
Three judges in an Illinois appellate court heard arguments last Tuesday on the claim that corridor protections filed by the Illinois Department of Transportation violate the rights of the property owners.
Timothy Dwyer, an attorney representing 56 property owners in Kane and Kendall counties, said property owners should not have to notify IDOT whenever an expansion or change is made to the property.
"We feel it is unconstitutional for property owners to have to notify the department," Dwyer said.
IDOT requires property owners to send a notice to the department and wait for a reply before changes can be made to the property.
"It's there to protect the owners," said Candace Sauermann, an IDOT engineering studies manager.
Sauermann said the more than 300 property owners in the Gateway Connector corridor should receive their recognition letter in the mail during the next two weeks.
Also last week, the state Senate Transportation Committee voted on a bill that would strengthen the rights of property owners within a transportation corridor. The committee rejected the bill a year ago.
The bill calls for three new provisions for corridor protections:
• Transportation departments would be required to provide proof of necessity before a protecting a corridor.
• The property owners affected by the corridor must be contacted via mail.
• A sunset clause would require additional research on the need of the corridor after 10 years.
Richard Ellerbrake, a member of Stop 158, said last week's actions are signs that his group is not the only one that opposes corridors.
"I think this demonstrates that this is not just a local concern, this but this something that exist in many parts of the state," Ellerbrake said.
For the last few years, Ellerbrake and his organization Stop 158, have opposed the Gateway Connector. Stop 158 does not believe the area will need the road.
Contact reporter Nicklaus Lovelady at nlovelady @bnd.com or 345-7822.