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Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant on Saturday vetoed a county board resolution to stop the expansion of 143rd Street through Homer Glen, saying she mistakenly signed off on it.
The veto came two days after the Will County Board voted 12-9 to halt the planned expansion project and have the county’s division of transportation look into widening the road to three lanes instead of five.
For several months, Homer Glen and Homer Township residents and officials asked the county to stop the $60 million project that would widen a 3-mile segment of 143rd Street from State Street/Lemont Road to Bell Road to five lanes. The road is now one lane in each direction.
Will County Board Executive, Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant during a Will County Board meeting 2023. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)
Opponents of the 143rd Street expansion celebrated Friday that the widening project had been stopped and posted a signed copy of the resolution to social media.
Bertino-Tarrant responded Saturday with a statement saying she signed the resolution in error and did not authorize it to go to the clerk’s office. She said it was never her intention to return a signed resolution to the county board, but rather use her veto power.
The village of Homer Glen, which opposes the expansion, may look into legal remedies so the project won’t continue, Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said.
Neitzke-Troike said if the veto is allowed to stand, she will ask the Homer Glen Village Board to file an injunction since the executive’s office already signed and filed the county board’s resolution ceasing the project. Neitzke-Troike said she will continue fighting for the residents’ desire to keep the road as is.
The resolution that stopped the expansion project fails to address traffic demands and public safety and goes against years of county board action to widen 143rd Street, Bertino-Tarrant said in her veto message.
The preliminary engineering to widen the road began in 2009, and public hearings were held in 2014, 2018 and 2019.
Bertino-Tarrant said the county board has repeatedly provided a clear direction to the Will County Division of Transportation to expand the segment of 143rd Street and has supported it unanimously on 10 separate occasions since 2009.
“Time and time again, the elected representatives that serve on the county board, including those that represent the communities along 143rd Street, have voted for this project,” she said. “Following the unanimous direction of our elected legislative body, Will County has held a consistent position since 2009: That the existing two-lane road is a danger to the public, impedes the flow of traffic, and prevents the safe passage of residents throughout the county.”
Bertino-Tarrant said the county has already spent $6.2 million on the project, including engineering and design costs and relocating utilities, to create a safer roadway.
“Although several members of the board expressed a belief that the county should ‘cut our losses’ on this project following years of consistent direction, I do not believe that individual board members changing their mind should come with a $6.2 million dollar price tag for the taxpayers,” Bertino-Tarrant said.
The county has also received a federal grant worth $7 million to apply to the project as planned.
Bertino-Tarrant said Thursday’s county board resolution does not provide a solution to the safety and traffic challenges. It also contradicts a separate resolution approved Thursday that advocates for the use of quick-take proceedings in the board’s legislative agenda.
The board approved quick take powers in November and is negotiating for 116 parcels needed to complete the widening. If the road was widened to three lanes, a similar amount of land would still be needed to meet drainage requirements, said Jeff Ronaldson, the county’s transportation director.
Bus drop off and pickup at Reed School would be affected by the widening, the district’s business manager told county officials in December. (Michelle Mullins/Daily Southtown)
Some Homer Glen residents believe widening the road to five lanes would create more congestion, traffic, noise and semi-trucks. The project would take portions of their land and cause them hardships when trying to leave their neighborhoods. An official with Reed Elementary School on 143d Street said the expansion would be problematic for buses and parents traveling to and from school.
County Board Chair Judy Ogalla, a Republican from Monee, issued a news release Friday saying after hearing from hours of public testimony, it was clear the project needed to stop, and the voices of the people had not been overlooked.
Board Republican Leader Steve Balich, whose district includes the 143rd Street project, said he feels the resolution signed Friday should stand. He said the board will have a lot of questions regarding the procedure and how mistakes were made, and that it’s possible it will end up in court.
He said he believes the widening is now in limbo, and it may be up to lawyers to handle.
“How many people made a mistake on the biggest issue the county has had in years,” Balich said. “I don’t know how this will play out. It’s not over. The fat lady didn’t sing yet.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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