Lake County endorses turning 1,100-acre highway-expansion land into ‘greenway’

The Lake County Board formally endorsed a proposal Tuesday to transform 1,100 acres of land — originally set aside for a now abandoned highway expansion project — into a “greenway” that would connect trails, forest preserve land and open green space in the central part of the county.

Though the vote is mostly symbolic, its passage signals to state legislators and Gov. J.B. Pritzker that there is intragovernmental support for the greenway idea backed by the 20-member Route 53 Land Expansion Alternative Use Task Force, which reached that decision in December after meeting throughout 2022 in accordance with a directive from the General Assembly.

It’s also an emphatic victory for environmental activists long opposed to the expansion of Route 53, for which the land was originally acquired.

Speaking on behalf of a coalition of environmental organizations supporting the greenway, Midwest Sustainability Group executive director Barbara Klipp mused that government entities originally started buying up parcels of land for eventual Route 53 expansion about 60 years ago, when she was born.

“This corridor represents one of the most scenic landscapes remaining in Lake County,” Klipp said. “And we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fully unleash its value as an iconic nature trail and conservation area where residents of our communities can treasure the atmosphere that makes central Lake County such an amazing place to live.”

The land, purchased gradually as Lake County’s population swelled, runs through parts of Long Grove, Hawthorn Woods, Mundelein and Grayslake near Route 120.

Illinois Tollway officials decided to scrap expansion plans in 2019 as support waned following years of expensive studies and a cost projection in the billions of dollars to expand the highway, but since the question of what to do with the land has lingered. Still, any movement on a greenway will take time.

The task force’s greenway recommendation, now with Lake County Board’s support, sends the question back to the General Assembly, which is expected to formulate a working group to examine how to conserve the area as a state trail, park or open space, and funding mechanisms for the proposal.

District 6 County Board member John Wasik, D-Grayslake, highlighted the bipartisan support for the task force’s greenway resolution, including from a pair of Republican legislators in state Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, and former state Rep. Chris Bos, R-Lake Zurich, who finished his term in January.

“It’s going to enhance property values,” Wasik said. “Folks who live along it will have the wetlands and the forest preserve forever. We’re also telling future generations we really care about green space.”

District 10 member Jessica Vealitzek, D-Hawthorn Woods, said there is, “extraordinary support across a broad spectrum of individuals and (governments)” for the plan.

Vealitzek, Wasik and District 19 member Marah Altenberg, D-Buffalo Grove, each served on the task force.

Among the municipal, county and state leaders, along with environmental advocates, who made up the task force, only Mundelein opposed the recommendation, while the Illinois Department of Transportation — which now owns the land — and the state Department of Natural Resources both abstained.

Doug Ower, chair of a the Illinois Sierra Club’s Woods and Wetlands Group, said that he believes the conservation of such a large swath of green space is a “great opportunity” to connect forest preserve trails and to aid Lake County in mitigating flooding effects as it continues to see rainfall increases.

“All those local municipalities, three County Board members that were on the task force and all the state legislators, and there were only three votes (not supporting) this idea,” Ower said.

District 2 member Adam Schlick, R-Wauconda, and District 5 member Kevin Hunter, R-Ingleside, abstained from the County Board vote.

Schlick said he appreciates the passion from greenway advocates and is glad to see the long-drifting Route 53 expansion idea “finally shelved,” but said he wants to learn more about reservations that IDOT and IDNR may have about the plans.

“When I read through all the documentation, it gives me more questions than I had answers, which I think I will find in time,” Schlick said.

In her public comment, Klipp added that the “linear configuration” of the land corridor, along with its environmental assets, “make sit a prime candidate for a protected greenway, whose very connectivity enhances its value in terms of wildlife.”

Chris Geiselhart, a member of the Lake County Audubon Society, called the resolution a “chance to be an important part of history,” and said the board’s support will “encourage Springfield to allocate funds to the IDNR for land maintenance there, as well as initiate planning for this process.”

District 3 member Ann Maine, R-Lincolnshire, said she was supportive of the resolution but added she was “disappointed in the process” through which it came before the board.

Maine said members of the public were asking her to support the resolution, before she was able to see it. She asked that board members inform their colleagues in the future if they are working on resolutions with community members on any issue.

Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, D-Lake Bluff, said she would “take ownership” of the item surprising some board members and said it was her understanding the matter had been voted forward in a recent Legislative Committee hearing meeting.

Wasik, who chairs the Legislative Committee, told the News-Sun the committee unanimously voted to direct staff to draft a resolution for the full board to consider.

In her comments before the vote, Altenberg said that while there may still be some debate about how all of the land parcels will be used, “This greenway is going to be a jewel for our county.”

Some of the mayors of Mundelein, Long Grove, Hawthorn Woods and Grayslake have expressed the desire to use small portions of the land for other purposes, though the latter three villages supported the recommendation.

“I think that will mean some other discussions in the future, but I think it’s important for our board to be supporting this recommendation the task force made,” Altenberg said. “I also think it’s going to be very important for our legislators in Springfield to help move this along, to help impart how important it is to get this project finished.”