There's one intersection Lake County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt avoids. It drives her nuts when she gets sidetracked and ends up trapped behind a line of traffic. If anyone should remember to stay away from Grass Lake Road and Route 45, it's Schmidt. She nicknamed it "The Millburn Strangler" a decade ago. The dubious moniker stuck, and became part of local lore. Even today, residents slowly snake though the crossing, especially during rush hours. The speed limit drops and two stop lights stand a quarter-mile apart. Homes and antique shops of the Millburn Historic District sit on either side of the intersection. But thanks to $2 million in federal funds, a new bypass is coming that will ease congestion by taking drivers around the historic district. Local politicians and U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean met near the area Tuesday to chat about ending the congestion. "That intersection has been a problem for as long as I can remember," Schmidt said. "It's horrible." In recent years, traffic has worsened with the addition of two new subdivisions and a new Millburn Elementary District 24 school, she said.Well, that horrible intersection is soon to be a thing of the past. A bypass soon to be built, will send drivers point-blank instead through those two inconvenient subdivisions and elementary school. As readers of this blog are jawdroppingly aware:
'Millburn Strangler' to be untangled.
Q the Eye/08.14.11Former County Chair Suzi Schmidt is seeing her wish become reality, as Route 45 is to be re-routed away from the historic antique shops. However, instead of being built through empty farmland, the Route 45 bypass is scheduled to divide suburban Lindenhurst much like Sherman divided Atlanta in 1864.
The news marks the end of a years long struggle between interests situated in Old Mill Creek to the east of Route 45, and Lindenhurst to the west. For operatives wishing to know what needs to be done to be on the winning side of this sort of inter-urban contretemps, your LakeCountyEye is happy to oblige:
To begin, send those campaign donations to your Springfield representatives. Route 45 is a US Highway, and your rep in Springfield is well suited to lobby your rep in Washington:
Next, pay a visit to city hall. It never hurts to enlist the mayor of your town:
Reception for Suzi Schmidt with Judy Baar Topinka and Dan Rutherford
Finally, if your mayor is related to one of Lake County's prominent land owners -- game-set-match!
Village of Old Mill Creek
Just follow to the letter these step-by-step recommendations and you and your neighbors will be sleeping with assurance again each night. Your LakeCountyEye guarantees that noisy, smelly, dangerous US highway will find itself, as if by magic, rerouted through someone else's backyard.
Tempel Farms
4 comments:
If you were listening to police scanners the other night, you may have heard other things going on in Lake Villa.
Suzi, Suzi, Suzi. I hope Tim's promised you big dough this cycle. There are four precincts affected by your choice for Rt. 45, and you already saw how two of them flipped for Bond in 2010 from 2006. Your Senate Caucus doesn't love you, your CB majority isn't thrilled because you've left three members vulnerable because of this, and now, well, you know. Not a lot of love flowing your way. I hope it was all worth it. At least the Daily Herald is trying to hide yesterday's article for you.
It's nice when horses are more important than the quality of peoples lives.
Is anyone paying attention? 70% of the community surveyed at a public forum wanted this bypass built on the Eastern side...while only 4% wanted it build on the western side. Twenty percent didn't want it built at all. Why is this slated to be built on the side that interests only 4% of those surveyed?
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