And here I was just talking about it a week ago….
According to a Daily Herald article last Thursday, all four GOP candidates for the County Board 5 seat being vacated by Robert Heap, candidates E. “Erin:” Busche, Michael Connelly, Richard Tarulis and Joseph Wozniak, say traffic is a major issue or, in the case of Tarulis, “the No. 1 problem in the county.”
While I view this as a positive development, caution is warranted. First off, not all of the candidates emphasize a public transportation solution to the traffic congestion, although both Busche and Wozniak see public transportation as a way out of the crisis.
Second, it is legitimate to ask any candidate how they expect to challenge County Board Chair Robert Schillerstrom’s commitment to road construction - one fueled, so to speak, by the campaign contributions from companies that do new road construction work.
From an August 4, 2005 Daily Herald article (links are mine):
“Some of the [Chairman Robert Schillerstrom’s] donations come from firms that have done or are doing business with DuPage County. The companies and their contributors include: $5,250 from Plote Construction, $4,500 from political consultants Greenberg Traurig, $7,350 from Civiltech Engineering and $7,750 from Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd.
He also obtained loans for $20,000 from Burke Engineering and $10,000 from K-Five Construction Co., which is doing work for the county.
Asked about potential conflicts of interest, Schillerstrom said, ‘There is clearly no relationship and no quid pro quo. These contributors have given me money because they believe I’ve done a good job.’
Many donors are from construction and engineering firms, which reflect his priorities as chairman and in the future, Schillerstrom said.
‘I’m a strong advocate of building infrastructure. I’ve worked very hard on building the infrastructure in DuPage. And, if I ran statewide, my position would be the same.’”
These firms have benefitted from county road construction projects and from construction at the DuPage Technology Park. I am not passing judgements on any of these linked examples of construction or the companies involved, although I have been critical of the funding of the DuPage Airport and DuPage Technology Park. I am, however, saying there is obviously a lot of money involved here. Some of the spending may be highly useful and necessary - some of may not, especially if we replace it with better mass transit. While major projects like the proposed Metra STAR Line offer substantial construction - adding more commuter buses and vans is not as construction-oriented, but it will reduce traffic congestion if properly implemented.
Are any of the candidates listed above ready to build a constituency for mass transit in DuPage? It’s the road that’s less traveled - and it’s the road we need to take.
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