Ethylene Alley

If thick smog is choking your air, blame the Route 53 Extension. That's because the IL Toll Authority has money to burn:

The Illinois Tollway is going ahead with a $25 million environmental study of a plan to extend state Route 53, even though the project is no longer designated a local priority. Last month, the region's planning agency knocked the controversial, long-debated proposal to extend Route 53 from Cook County into Lake County off its priority list. This means it is no longer eligible for federal funds.
Route 53 study goes forward, despite project's demotion

Any environmental study should note that the Route 53 Extension is to be paved right under the toxic ethylene oxide cloud in Gurnee:

Vantage Specialty Chemicals in Gurnee reported to another office at the EPA that during 2014 it released 6,412 pounds of ethylene oxide — more than either Sterigenics or Medline did during the same period.
2 Lake County polluters emit same cancer-causing gas as Sterigenics, but authorities haven't warned the public

... where it may be prudent to dig an underground tunnel through Gurnee for that leg of the Route 53 Extension.

Note to Toll Authority Ops: That ought to wrap up that environmental study of yours. Please send the $25,000,000 to lakecountyeye@gmail.com.

Route 66 was Already Taken?

Note to Ops: If the media reports things you don't like, simply rebrand the media as the fake news. So it makes sense that if you have an expensive highway project that nobody likes, simply rebrand the highway project:

A study to determine the feasibility of extending Route 53 into Lake County has been rebranded to reflect a broader range of possibilities to ease traffic congestion. Instead of focusing solely on Route 53 and associated work to improve Route 120 in central Lake County, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority says the Tri-County Access Project will consider a range of alternatives to move traffic in Lake, McHenry and northern Cook counties.
Route 53 extension study rebranded as a 'Tri-County' project: Lake, McHenry, Cook

Now, the Illinois Toll Authority is spending $25 million to keep the Route 53 Extension alive. Apparently however little if none of that money went into rebranding the toxic highway project:

Tri-County Access Project

What's a Tri-County? Your guess is as good as your LakeCountyEye's.

To be sure, any decision to rebrand needs to be executed properly. Every dollar spent is twice as many saved. That's because when it comes to branding a venture, a million things can go wrong. Ten, in the case of the Route 53 Extension:

Ten Rejected Brands for the Route 53 Extension

Tollway to Heaven Route 53 Distention Tri-Ckle-Down Access Project Trump Tow & Wrecking The Amstutz Recreational Pothole Dispensary The Tollroad Paved with Gold New Coke The Route 53 Blockchain Extension Wide Enough to Drive a Truck Through!

Look for your LakeCountyEye somewhere in the Tri-County area near you.

The Road to Ill Health is Paved with 53 Extensions

Note to Operatives: If you are sick of hearing about the Route 53 Extension then hit the volume on your Beltone. That's because the Route 53 Extension will make you sick.

According to the Daily Herald:

Opponents of a proposed Route 53 extension into Lake County are seeking support for a study to determine potential health impacts of the highway.
Grassroots group wants health study of Route 53 extension

Along with being pancaked under an 18-wheeler, other health risks associated with prolonged exposure to a highway include lung disease, heart attack and stroke. And if to add insult to injury, no one living near the Route 53 Extension will have any health insurance, because the GOP is going to kill the Affordable Care Act.

Peter Roskam (Lake County's vestigial Congressman), who voted to repeal Obamacare last month, was quick to issue a statement: "Voters can rest assured that Trumpcare will be a huge improvement over Obamacare. Under Trumpcare your exposure to the Route 53 Extension will be classified as a pre-existing condition -- a major benefit. Provided, of course, the Route 53 Extension gets built first!"

That's all your LakeCountyEye has. Please bend over and cough.

The $25MM Schilla in the Strom

Note to Ops: If you aim to burn some rubber thru a Tollway Oasis, watch out for pedestrians. That's because the Illinois Tollway Authority has gobs of walking-around money to hand out. And by gobs, your LakeCountyEye means $25,000,000 of them.

According to the Daily Herald ...

Illinois tollway directors unanimously voted to study extending Route 53 north Thursday, approving a $25 million consulting contract amid furious lobbying for and against the project.
Tollway OKs $25 million, 4- to 5-year study of Route 53 extension

Lake County officials welcomed the decision. One told your LakeCountyEye: "We got a golf course in Lake Villa Township to sell them."

That's all you're LakeCountyEye has. Don't forget to tip your tollbooth operator.

Haunted Highway

If wishes were horses then beggars would ride. Provided, of course they were riding on the Route 53 Extension.

Haha, it's back. A new poll commissioned by a pro-highway construction special interest group reportedly breathes some life into the zombie Route 53 Extension. The Daily Herald has been keeping a close watch on the $3 billion tollway project:

Despite Lake County Chairman Aaron Lawlor's dropping support for the project in May, tollway leaders reaffirmed their commitment, indicating they'd hire consultants by last summer, but nothing's happened. That begs the question: Is the tollway all-in or getting cold feet? Proposals from consulting firms are still under review, a spokesman said. If officials needed ammunition to pull the trigger, they got it with the release of a report last week from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute
Is the tollway getting cold feet on Route 53 extension?

That begs the question, indeed.

Be that as it may, one obvious question remains to be asked: Will the Tollway Authority pull the trigger or get cold feet? A well-heeled spokesman said: "Let's build it in McHenry County, instead. That way no one will be surprised when they shoot themselves in the foot."

My Foot!

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Out of Commision

Note to Lake County commuters: If your tolls go up, that's because no one represents you anymore on the Illinois Toll Authority. This week Lake County Commissioner Nick Sauer vacated his seat on the Tollway Board. Toll Board Members meet once a month and are given $31,426 for what can be charitably described as a part-time job. Sauer has not stated a reason -- he perhaps resigned from the Board because $30,000 simply doesn't go as far as it used to?

It is believed that Nick Sauer was appointed to the Tollway Board last year to be a strong advocate for the Route 53 Extension.  At the time, Lake County Board Chair Aaron Lawlor headed the Route 53 Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee, which reports to the Illinois Tollway Board. This week both Lawlor and Sauer, abruptly and in succession, cut their ties with the Toll Board.

Even before Sauer could clean out his locker at the Tollway Authority gym+spa, Governor Bruce Rauner appointed a Bartlett resident to fill the vacancy:

Lake County's representative on the Illinois tollway board, Nick Sauer, is stepping down after a brief tenure and will be replaced by Neli Vazquez-Rowland, co-founder of an alcohol and drug addiction recovery program, a state official said. Sauer was appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner a year ago as he revamped the tollway administration.
Sauer exiting tollway board in midst of Route 53 angst

Neli Vazquez-Rowland is a Rauner political ally and President of A Safe Haven Foundation. In 2014 ...

Governor-elect Bruce Rauner announced the members of ten new transition teams Wednesday. Neli Vazquez-Rowland, President of "A Safe Haven Foundation," was named to Rauner's Health and Human Services Committee. Her husband, Brian Rowland, CEO of "A Safe Haven LLC," was named to the Veterans Committee.
RAUNER TAPS OBAMACARE NAVIGATORS FOR HIS TRANSITION TEAM

Note to Ops: If you are an elected official and must cope with a sudden loss of income, it may pay to investigate the Job Training and Placement Services at the Safe Haven Foundation. Just sayin!

A Sauer Note

You might as well just tie a yellow ribbon around the Route 53 Blue Ribbon Commission.  Nick Sauer is the latest well apportioned Lake County Board Member to back out of the plan to build a Route 53 Extension. Aaron Lawlor was the first Lake County Board Member to pull his support, this week, from the project, confirming the adage ...

If Lawlor goes, can Sauer be far behind?

The Route 53 Extension enjoyed substantial public support -- until it became clear that the project came with a price-tag upwards toward $3 billion. The massive public works project is now regarded as a political concrete albatross.

Nick Sauer, the Daily Herald says ...

was appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner a year ago as he revamped the tollway administration. The Lake County Board member is running as a Republican in the November election for the Illinois House seat held by outgoing state Rep. Edward Sullivan of Mundelein.
Sauer exiting tollway board in midst of Route 53 angst

Your LakeCountyEye cannot recall witnessing breathtaking reversals of conviction like these, and for the sake of political expediency -- at least not since Donald Trump ran for President.

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Double Crossing the Route 53 Extension

Someone must've told Lake County Board Chair Aaron Lawlor that this is opposite day. That's because Lawlor threw the Route 53 Extension under the bus.

Haha, according to the Daily Herald ...

Monday's stunning announcement by Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor that he's withdrawing support for the Route 53 extension and suggesting instead officials concentrate on a "greenway" corridor leaves the Illinois tollway in the odd spot of championing a project dropped by a prime backer.
Lake County's Lawlor pulls Route 53 support; study still on?

Lawlor (who is believed to have been advocating for the Route 53 Extension since before he learned to drive) chairs the Route 53 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council. With his abrupt pull-out, Lawlor leaves the Illinois Tollway Authority holding the bag -- a bag with a $50 million hole in it to cover the cost of a planned Environmental Impact Study.

Your LakeCountyEye observes that this is an election year. And Aaron Lawlor discovered he was on the wrong side of a suddenly unpopular public works project. And with the certifiably crazy Donald Trump atop the GOP ballot, many local Republican office holders fear for their jobs. A rising tide may lift all boats. But these boats are moored inside the men's room of Trump Tower.

Note to the Illinois Tollway Authority: Elected officials do what they need to do to stay elected officials.

Nuff said?

Reductio ad Referendum

There is a old saying in Lake County: "If the Route 53 Extension did not exist, it would be necessary to invent one."

Haha, the News-Sun noted that ...

Opponents of the proposed Route 53 extension lined up before the Lake County Board on Tuesday to criticize what they described as a lack of transparency and public input on the issue, with one speaker calling on the county to conduct an advisory referendum in 2016 to get an updated take on support for the long-debated concept.
Route 53 opponents take fight to Lake County Board

The Lake County Board was urged to slate a new Route 53 Referendum. Only this time they needed to spell out how much it will cost, both in dollars and against the environment. Also, to ask the voters during a high-turnout, Presidential election -- and not during an April, off-year election.

Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor was overheard to say ...

"I don't want to get into a debate about Route 53."
Route 53 opponents take fight to Lake County Board

Note to Ops: Nothing to see here. Move along please.

The Road to Perfidy

It's a well known quirk of the English language: every sentence uttered by Aaron Lawlor contains a noun, a verb, and the Route 53 Extension. Haha, this may explain why Lawlor, the Lake County Board Chair, was uncharacteristically tight-lipped after a Hawthorn Woods town meeting -- one critical of the $3 billion highway project. Lawlor told the Chicago Tribune:

"There were a number of valid concerns, and a number of inaccuracies, that we're going to address," Lawlor said. "I'm going to leave it at that."
Hawthorn Woods mayor on Route 53: 'Basically, we have an issue with everything'

Note to Operatives: On this blog, valid concerns are numbered few and far between. But if it's inaccuracies that you are looking for, you've come to the right place. Your LakeCountyEye knows at least 10 widely believed misbeliefs about the Route 53 Extension:

Ten Common Misconceptions About the Route 53 Extension

Paved with Gold Will be the Only Man-Made Object Visible from the Moon Filed a Wrongful Conviction Suit Against the County Phase #1: Build It Over the Long Grove Sinkhole Phase #2: FEMA Pays for It For Twice as Many Lanes at Half the Cost, It's Shaped Like a Moebius Strip Plans to Run for Lake County State's Attorney STD Stands for Special Taxing District To be Constructed Out of Lumber Left Over from the Goliath Rollercoaster Will Pay for Itself, After the Oil Fields Along the Right-of-Way are Seized One Royal Clusterf*ck

Look for your LakeCountyEye busting myths near you.

Travel Incentives

One corporate gravy train has exploded in Lake County. Organizations looking for tax incentives from the County may want to think twice, because, according to the Daily Herald ...

The county board on Tuesday unanimously approved an incentive policy that outlines several conditions, including a measurable return on investment, that must be met before county officials would consider rebating sales or property taxes for a project.
Lake County puts conditions on tax incentives for businesses

Every law has unexpected consequences. This one has the Route 53 Extension Blue Ribbon Panel crying foul. To find out why, your LakeCountyEye asked Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi -- Professor of Corporate Extortion at the College of Lake County.

"Ya," chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "that asphalt albatross will never get built if Lake County demands an ROI out of the Route 53 Extension. The Toll Authority will have to slap a $20 surcharge on their Oasis burritos, before they would offset those sweetheart tax-breaks that the County Board promised."

That would not sit well with the Lake County motorists?

Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi produced a calculator. "If you figure the average automobile toll at $5, and figure ten million cars every year -- at a cost of $3 billion, it will take 60 years to pay for the Route 53 Extension!"

That's a lot of rubber on the road.

"Not to mention leaky crankcases." grimaced Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "The Toll Authority is studying how the airline industry makes its profit. Motorists on the Route 53 Extension will be hit with extra fees -- like a finder's fee. Anyone who breaks down and wants a tow-truck to find them, pays a fee."

Wouldn't public transportation be better?

"Lake County's public transportation system is called Uber." said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Studies prove that a small fleet of Uber drivers could move more people through the Route 53 corridor -- and quicker -- than any 45mpg limited access parkway. And at a fraction of the cost."

How much of a fraction?

What fraction is $3000 of $3 billion?

That would add up to an enviable ROI, to be sure.  Did Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi have any parting advice?

"Tell your operatives my Uber ID is #LikeaBhatschidtkhrazziOuttaHell. Ping me any time 24/7/365."

We Don't Need No Stinkin Amstutz

If the Amstutz Expressway were a 36 inch pizza then the long knives would be out for it. A News-Sun op-ed published last week was really a thinly veiled call for the Amstutz's demise:

There's nothing about the 2.9-mile abomination and its social, financial, aesthetic or cultural contribution to Waukegan that could not be improved by unleashing jackhammers to destroy it.
Rutter: Waukegan's Amstutz Expressway is a 'massive purple wart'

Is the Amstutz on the road to oblivion? Your LakeCountyEye asked Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi -- the Travelling Professor at the College of Lake County.

"Ya," sighed Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi "they want to bulldoze the Amstutz into Lake Michigan like it was some empty beach and turn it into high-value lakefront property."

Too sad. Who exactly would feel the burden?

"No one ever uses the road, so exactly no one." said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "And that's exactly why the Amstutz is America's highway. Every movie chase scene since Ben-Hur has been filmed on the Amstutz."

Ben-Hur?

"Bullitt, The French Connection, Smokey and the Bandit, Thelma & Louise, Mad Max, Death Race 2000, Driving Miss Daisy ... these were all filmed on the Amstutz. It's the most recognizable 2.9 mile stretch of highway in the lower 48!"

Too cool. Are there plans to save the Amstutz?

"Bet on it." replied Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Do you remember the Route 53 Extension?"

Who can forget?

"The Route 53 Extension," continued Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi "is a $3 billion, unbuilt highway that everybody wants but nobody wants to pay for. Compare it with the Amstutz -- a highway that is built and paid-for, but nobody wants. Now combine the two and what do you get?"

One of those venn diagram jokes?

Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi pulled up close: "The Route 53 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council has a top-secret fail-safe doomsday-scenario contingency plan prepared, in case the taxpayers don't give them those 3 billion smackers. Just suppose one moonless night the Lake County Division of Transportation shuts down the Amstutz -- and removes all of the highway signs. And replaces them with Route 53 Extension highway signs. What will everyone think the next morning?"

Your LakeCountyEye, being no Carnac the Magnificent, did not know.

"The commuters," chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "will think the Amstutz had been demolished. And that the Route 53 Extension had finally been built! The County gets rid of the Amstutz, and produces a Route 53 Extension -- all for the price of a couple dozen traffic signs. It's a win-win for everyone."

Too crazy. Did Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi have any parting advice?

"Don't be surprised if the Amstutz turns, one day, into a $5 toll-road. Tell your Operatives to hold on to their pennies."

Take a Break!

"Bulldozer"Aaron Lawlor, the Chair of the Lake County Board, will be in Grant Township later this month. Lawlor, the Daily Herald says, will talk about the Route 53 Extension ...

Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor will be the featured speaker when the Grant Township Republican Club meets Thursday, May 28, to discuss the Route 53 extension.
Lawlor to address Grant Township Republicans

The topic of Lawlor's address will be:

Unregulated Engine Breaking on the Route 53 Extension:
Environmental Catastrophe or Economic Necessity?

It should be noted that the topic of Chairman Lawlor's address will NOT be:

No-Wake Restrictions on the Route 53 Extension:
Gentleman's Agreement or IDNR Mandate?

Your LakeCountyEye regrets the mistake.

The Gold Seal

Groundhog Day was cancelled in Lake County. Pistakee Phil is still waiting for a road crew to plow the snow out of his groundhog hole.

Haha j/k.

Lake County's roads are making news, however. The Daily Herald says the Lake County Department of Transportation is ...

requesting $540,000 in motor fuel tax funds be spent in hopes of preserving two segments of road before more extensive repairs are needed. The technique is called "microsurfacing" and is being targeted for about three total miles in northern Lake County: Deep Lake Road from Route 173 to the Wisconsin state line and North Avenue from Deep Lake Road to the state line.
Lake County considers new technique to preserve pavement

The technique is similar to sealcoating your driveway. The difference being you don't end up tracking tar all over your house.

In related news, county planners made a surprise announcement: the Route 53 Extension will be paved with gold. One source told your LakeCountyEye that the price of gold is at a five-year low. "If we buy now," he said, "we just wait for the next gold-market bubble, and the Route 53 Extension pays for itself."

That's all your LakeCountyEye has. No phony goldbricking here. Dude.

The Route 53 Explosion

Operatives who look at this map of Lake County and recognize the Route 53 Extension should look again. It is actually an Oil Train Blast Zone map:

Every day the oil industry sends millions of gallons of highly flammable crude oil through cities and towns across North America. Our rail system was never built for this dangerous cargo. Oil Train Blast Zone

The map shows where exploding railroad trains criss-cross Lake County. The Yellow areas denote the potential impact zone in case of an oil train fire. Red is the evacuation zone for oil train derailments.

An actual map of the Route 53 Extension is below:

Transitized

Presumably the Route 53 Extension will be put to use as an evacuation route when one of Lake County's exploding railroad trains explodes.  Provided, of course,  the Route 53 Extension does not catch fire as well.

The Road to Riches

Short of threatening to move across State lines unless they get tax concessions, the Route 53 Blue Ribbon Commission has run out of ideas for financing the Route 53 Extension. The News-Sun observed that ...

After months of laboring through a bushel of options on how to build a 25-mile road for about $2.6 billion, the project's finance committee has arrived at an interlocking set of funding plans. What the components share in common is that everyone will hate at least one of the ideas. And lots of people will hate the entire idea, starting with spending $2.6 billion on a road that only begets bad funding ideas.
Route 53 payment plan gives something for everyone to hate

Desperate times call for desperate measures. So your LakeCountyEye paid a visit to Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, Professor of Leveraged Financial Instruments at the College of Lake County.

Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi asked to meet on the Amstutz Expressway, the on-screen location of every Hollywood chase scene ever filmed since Ben Hur. He said, "Every time they shoot a movie here, the City of Waukegan pockets a nice chunk of money for itself. Well, it was only a matter of time before the Route 53 Commission woke up and smelled the Benjamins."

Your LakeCountyEye was nonplussed. Did that mean they planned to finance the Route 53 Extension by making the limited-access toll-road available to Hollywood filmmakers?

"They are already under contract" offered Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "to film the Easy Rider sequel on the Route 53 Extension. The daily commuter isn't even expected to notice. Lake County has plenty of senior citizens riding around on their Harley Davidsons, as it is."

Your LakeCountyEye was all like: and not to mention good ole boys in pickups with gun racks.

"And the LCDOT is already stockpiling barrels of yellow-line paint", continued Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "for a remake of the Wizard of Oz. Tell your ops there will be an open casting call for munchkin extras."

Your LakeCountyEye made a mental note.

"This financing plan will also help save on construction costs." added Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "They will only have to build the bridges half-way across the overpasses. For a remake of Thelma and Louise."

Your LakeCountyEye was none too pleased to hear that. Something else to avoid during rush hour.

"And think about this." cautioned Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "After one or two Chicago winters the Route 53 Extension is expected to revert back to its feral state -- a post-apocalyptic moonscape of potholes and roadkill and homeless squatters. Well, one Hollywood studio has already optioned the rights."

Your LakeCountyEye had a hunch. Another Mad Max movie?

"No flies on you today." chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "I've heard that the the International Demolition Derby Association -- as well as NASCAR -- have sent out feelers."

Your LakeCountyEye heard enough. Was there any parting advice?

"Tell your ops," said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "that if the location shots on Duck Dynasty look familiar, they'll know why."

The Gas Guzzler

The Route 53 Extension must be a lot like sex. Everyone wants it for free. Haha, the Route 53 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council is kicking around some new ideas to fund the brick-and-mortar superhighway. The most promising are being leaked to the public to gauge their reaction.

The Daily Herald reports that ...

Congestion pricing, increasing the toll at the Waukegan plaza and/or adding tolls at Route 132 and tolling at the Illinois border will remain in play, as will establishing a 4-cent per gallon gas tax in Lake County.
How the Route 53/120 extension could be funded

One arguable Council member told your LakeCountyEye that the feedback has been positive: "What's an extra 4 or 8 or 12 cents per gallon? It's not like you won't be able to take the Route 53 Extension to Cook County or McHenry County or even up to Wisconsin. Where the gas will be a lot cheaper."

Pull it out of park. That's all your LakeCountyEye has.

Blacktop & Blue Ribbons

A 287-billion-volt third rail runs through the heart of Lake County and it's called the Route 53 Extension. As readers of this blog are shockingly aware ...

Cutting Corners Around the Route 53 Extension

It seems the only way to fund an environmentally sensitive Route 53 Extension would be to build an environmentally offensive Route 53 Extension. No one from the Route 53/120 Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee was willing to talk -- so your LakeCountyEye did the next best thing and looked up Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, Professor of Creative Finance at the College of Lake County.

"If this project isn't already tied up in red tape" said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "it's tied up in blue ribbons. What's up with a name like Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee anyways? Do they convene at the County Fair and judge livestock or something? Blue Ribbon is an adjective that's used to describe these ad-hoc rubber-stamp panels. Are we supposed to call them the blue ribbon Route 53/120 Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee?"

A nice rant, but your LakeCountyEye wanted to know how the so-called Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee was going to fund the Route 53 Extension. They are now talking about raising local contributions.

"Absolutely" laughed Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "and if you believe that I got a bridge to sell you in Lake County. Haha, the Advisory Committee knows quite well that nobody's mayor is going to raise their taxes to pay for a freeway in their backyard."

The Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee did a head fake?

"Well" replied Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "when their own finance committee is saying that environmental protection is their top concern, and when Aaron Lawlor says the environmental stewardship fund is not up for discussion, then dollars to donuts they plan to slash costs at the expense of ..."

The environment? Your LakeCountyEye interjected.

"No flies on you today" chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi.

(That may be because your LakeCountyEye had earlier walked in front of a Southlake Mosquito Abatement District truck.)

Your LakeCountyEye produced a News-Sun clipping, showing what County Board Chair Aaron Lawlor actually said:

"The environmental stewardship fund is a third rail — if you touch it, the project goes away," he said. "I just want to be clear as we continue this conversation that we all know the things that make this consensus work."
Fate of Route 53 expansion hinges on local contributions, officials say

"He just challenged us to a game of chicken" explained Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "right down the middle of the Route 53 Extension."

That's severe. Was there any parting advice for the ops?

"You know, I don't teach physics" smiled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "but I don't think it is the project that goes away when you touch the third rail."

Cutting Corners Around the Route 53 Extension

Like a bad penny, the Route 53 Extension keeps coming back. More precisely, like 287 billion bad pennies. The Daily Herald is now reporting that ...

The costs of innovations associated with the proposed Route 53 extension north into Lake County will be examined for possible savings, but environmental protection will remain a top concern, officials said Monday during a recap of the $2.87 billion project. Leaders of a finance committee advising state tollway officials on ways to fund the Illinois Route 53/120 project said the agreement among varied interests to proceed hinges on that being the case.
Panel to study potential Route 53 cost savings

Translation: it's going to take some creative accounting to do a Route 53 Extension. Haha, the highway that everyone wants but no one wants to pay for will have to be built on the cheap.

Most of its prohibitive expenses were added to the highway's budget to mollify environmental concerns -- noise, pollution, habitat, open space, etc. So despite the assurances of Lake County Board Chair Aaron Lawlor and others, it is unclear where budgetary fat can be trimmed without harming the environment.  One undistinguished member of the Illinois Route 53/120 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council told your LakeCountyEye: "I'll be in my Florida houseboat, sitting on my big Blue Ribbon Advisory Council pension, before we scrape together enough money to build this asphalt albatross."

Until then, your LakeCountyEye has learned, expect the Route 53 Extension to see more cutbacks than Lombard Street does in San Francisco. At least 10 of them:

Ten Route 53 Extension Cost Cutting Measures Under Consideration

End Construction at Checker Rd Staff the Tollbooths with Non-Union Cyborgs Kickstarter Pay-Toilets in All the Oases Two Words: Mob Cement Dip into the Lake County Election Commission Trust Fund This Worked for Six Flags: Build it with Wood Lease Out the Fracking Rights on the Right-of-Way Get Bruce Rauner to Pay for It Seriously, Who Needs Northbound Lanes?

Look for your LakeCountyEye on a Route 53 Extension billboard near you.

Do Ambulance Chasers Ever Get Stuck in Traffic?

Lake County, no slouch when it comes to petty & vindictive political retributions, takes a backseat to New Jersey. According to the Chicago Tribune ...

As if he did not have enough headaches, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is facing a potential class-action lawsuit arising from the monster traffic jams his aides are accused of creating, although experts question the strength of the case. A personal injury lawyer from Fort Lee, New Jersey, filed the case in federal court on behalf of six local residents who missed work or suffered other alleged damages due to the traffic jam last September.
Another headache for New Jersey's Christie: Class-action lawsuit

To get the lowdown on the monster personal injury suit, your LakeCountyEye had a conversation with Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, Professor of Frivolous Litigation at the College of Lake County.

"Ya, the fat is in the fire, metaphorically speaking." Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi told your LakeCountyEye. "New Jersey has demonstrated that official malfeasance with respect to the proper oversight of the public thoroughfares is actionable in a court of law. This is huge!"

Actionable, wondered your LakeCountyEye. How so?

"Here's an example even your operatives can understand." said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "How long have you been waiting for the Route 53 Extension to be built -- fifty years, at least? Well, during those fifty years how many times were you late to work or school or somehow delayed because that highway never got beyond the planning stage? A million times, right?"

At least, thought your LakeCountyEye.

"And whose fault is that?" asked Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "The government of Lake County Illinois, right?"

At the very least, thought your LakeCountyEye.

"OK, if I can file a personal injury suit against the Governor of New Jersey for shutting down some little bridge and making me late," continued Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "then what stops me from filing a personal injury suit against the government of Lake County for neglecting to build their Route 53 Extension, and making me late?"

Your LakeCountyEye laughed involuntarily -- who would contemplate something like that?

"My law firm." replied Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi.

Your LakeCountyEye pantomimed a double-take -- you're an associate at a law firm?

"No, not an associate." sniffed Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Partner. A founding partner of Dewey, Cheatem & Bhatschidtkhrazzi. Look us up in Sullivan's. We're building a class-action lawsuit against the government of Lake County to recover damages and lost wages that are a direct result of being stuck in traffic because of their ongoing failure to construct a Route 53 Extension."

Your LakeCountyEye heard enough. Did Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi have any parting observations?

"I thought you'd never ask." he said. "This is our walkcard. Will you post a copy on your little blog?"

Route 53 Extension Class Action Lawsuit

ATTENTION LAKE COUNTY MOTORISTS

IF YOU OPERATED A MOTOR VEHICLE ON A LAKE COUNTY ROAD
ANY TIME DURING THE PAST 50 YEARS
CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY!

JOIN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
TO RECOVER TIME AND EXPENSES LOST
WHILE DELAYED IN LAKE COUNTY TRAFFIC
This is an announcement for Lake County motorists who wish to join a class action lawsuit to recover their unpaid expenses. If you were ever delayed in Lake County traffic because the Government of Lake County neglected to construct a Route 53 Extension in a timely manner, then you are entitled to compensation.

You qualify to be a member of this class action suit if, within the past 50 years, you were delayed in Lake County traffic when driving to:

• Your Work
• Your School
• Your Video Poker Machine
• Your Medical Marijuana Dispensary
• Your Shootin' Range
• Get registered to vote with the Lake County Election Commission

If you meet any of the above criteria, or believe you qualify for any other reason, do not hesitate to contact:

pot'o'gold@TheEndOfTheRoute53Extension.com

Do not delay. You may be eligible for a handsome settlement!

We guarantee to keep your identity and the information you share with us strictly confidential until the class action lawsuit is filed.