In an aggressive move to protect the community's interest, the Village has formally asked regional transportation planners to remove the I-290 high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane project from the region's long-term transportation plan or specify that it cannot be built until all required federal studies are completed. The formal request was submitted to the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), the metropolitan planning organization that develops the long-term transportation planning for the Chicago area. The Village told CATS it believes three critical analyses have not yet been conducted by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) as required by federal law.

In addition, the Village is urging CATS to add covering the Eisenhower Expressway through Oak Park to its long-range transportation plan. The Village has submitted a grant application to CATS for funds to update a cap study completed by IDOT in 1987.

The Village also suggested in its comments to CATS that the CTA Blue Line el service be extended to address congestion as part of the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan. CATS was urged to explore expanding Metra capacity from Chicago to DuPage County as well.

IDOT officials have said they intend to comply with the federal requirements and that the preliminary environmental and design phase of the project is not expected to be completed before Dec. 31, 2004.

For more information visit the Village of Oak Park's web site at vil.oak-park.il.us under the Special Reports part of the News section.

Citizens concerned about the proposed Eisenhower expansion project should contact their state and federal elected officials and urge them to ensure that IDOT completes a full Environmental Impact Statement.

• The Honorable Calvin Giles, Illinois House of Representatives, 8th District, 2090 M Stratton Bldg, Springfield, IL 62706,
  217.782.5962, Fax: 217.782.2779
  
• The Honorable Karen Yarborough, Illinois House of Representatives, 7th District, 2089-M Stratton Bldg, Springfield, IL 62706,
  217.782.8120, Fax 217.782.1739
  
• The Honorable Angelo "Skip" Saviano, Illinois House of Representatives, 77th District, 2112-N Stratton Bldg, Springfield, IL 62706,
  217.782.3374
  
• The Honorable James B. Durkin, Illinois House of Representatives, 44th District, 2003-G Stratton Bldg, Springfield, IL 62706,
  217.782.1061, Fax: 217.557.6394
  
• The Honorable Kimberly A. Lightford, Illinois Senate, 4th District, 311 State Capitol, Springfield, IL 62706,
  217.782.8505, Fax: 217.782.3213
  
• The Honorable Dan Cronin, Illinois Senate, 39th District, 127 Capitol Bldg., Springfield, IL 62706,
  217.782.8107, Fax: 217.782.4079
  
• The Honorable Thomas J. Walsh, Illinois Senate, 22nd District, 118 State House, Springfield, IL 62706,
  217.782.2015, Fax: 217.782.4079
  
• The Honorable Danny Davis, U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District, 1218 Longworth HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515,
  202.225.5006, Fax: 202.225.5641
  
• The Honorable Luis Gutierrez, U.S. House of Representatives, 4th District, 2438 Rayburn HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515,
  202.225.8203, Fax: 202.225.7810
  
• The Honorable William Lipinski, U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd District, 2470 Longworth HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515,
  202.225.5701, Fax: 202.225.1012
  
• The Honorable Peter Fitzgerald, U.S. Senate, 555 Dirksen, Washington, D.C. 205210,
  202.228.1372, Fax: 202.224.2854,
  senator_fitzgerald@fitzgerald. senate.gov
  
• The Honorable Richard Durbin, U.S. Senate, 332 Dirksen, Washington, D.C. 20510,
  202.224.2152, Fax: 202.228.0400
  dick@durbin.senate.gov

• Lawrence B. Christmas, chair Planner, former Village President, former Director of Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
• Philip J. Rock, Attorney, former State Senate President
• Mark Johnson, Civil engineer, County highway official, former chair of Parking & Traffic Commission
• Sandra Kupelian, Attorney, active with the South Oak Park Community Council
• Karen Baldwin Freelance editor, Community Relations Commission member, former chair of Citizen Involvement Committee
• Kevin Kell, Transportation engineer, past and current member of Village and Park District Infrastructure committees, respectively
• Ron Burke, Non-profit management, air quality expert, author of "diesel hot spot" Chicago highway report
• Marion Kessy, Consulting environmental engineer
• Pete Morava, President of Harrison Street Business Alliance. Owner of art business near Austin Blvd. and resident
• David Sokol, Professor and UIC department chair, former Historic Preservation Commission chair
• Nancy Rodriguez, Active member of the Oak Park/Eisenhower Business District Association, owner of food-related business
• Colette Lueck, Plan Commission Chair