Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Toll Road (CAPIT) is heartened by the comments of state legislators who appear to have moderated their position on S.B. 1, which would grant authority for two new privatized toll roads, including the Illiana Toll Road in Northwest Indiana.

According to a statement released today, State Sen. Vic Heinhold, R-Kouts, has announced that he wants to remove the largest portion of the Illiana Toll Road from the rest of the language in S.B. 1. Instead, the statement said, he “favors an independent study of the eastern leg extending from I-65 east through Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties.”

A letter from Heinhold was read at CAPIT’s legislative forum on March 10. “I do not want to be seen as obstructing progress in regards to the Indiana Commerce Connector around Indianapolis or the Illiana extension from I-65 west to Illinois,” he wrote in that letter. “These are matters for the legislators and residents that it affects. In terms of the eastern connection from I-65, I feel we need to de-couple this part from the expanded language of S.B. 1 and merely move towards a study to determine the need and impact such a road would have. This study should be done by independent environmental engineers in conjunction with INDOT. I feel after this, we can have rational conversations as to the value of such a project. I have shared my position with the leadership and feel that I have their support if the legislation does move back to the Senate.”

State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, in the meantime, has announced that she is willing to compromise on S.B. 1, the statement said.

Heinhold and Rogers were among the 36 senators who voted last month to grant Gov. Mitch Daniels the authority for the two privatized toll roads: the Illiana Toll Road and the Indiana Commerce Connector near Indianapolis.

‘Take the Next Step’

CAPIT’s legislative forum was attended by an estimated 1,000 people opposed to the Illiana Toll Road.

“We are certainly heartened by the most recent comments by Sens. Heinhold and Rogers,” CAPIT President Dave Ahlberg said. “We commend them for responding to the overwhelming sentiment of the people of Northwest Indiana who do not want to see more loss of farmland, more urban sprawl, and more privatized roads in our region.”

“We urge Sens. Heinhold and Rogers to take the next step by following the will of the people by opposing the Illiana Toll Road in its entirety and by working toward improved mass transportation,” Ahlberg said.

CAPIT also commended State Reps. Robert Kuzman, D-Crown Point, and Earl Harris, D-East Chicago. Kuzman was quoted by a newspaper as saying that state officials need to listen to the will of the people and to pursue mass transit instead of the Illiana Toll Road, the statement said. Harris also expressed concerns about how the Illiana would negatively affect the northernmost cities in Lake County.

CAPIT thanked all of the state legislators who attended the legislative forum, held at the Porter County Expo Center. In addition to Rogers and Kuzman, the following attended: State Reps. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso; David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, the vice-chair of the House Roads and Transportation Committee; Duane Cheney, D-Portage; Charlie Brown, D-Gary; and State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage.

Calls for ‘Study’ may be ‘Misleading’

CAPIT also called on all groups which have taken a stand in support of a study of the Illiana Toll Road to clarify their position on S.B. 1. “It is a grave disservice to the public when organizations misconstrue, perhaps unknowingly, the impacts of a major piece of legislation like S.B. 1, CAPIT Vice-president Laura Blaney said. “It has been inaccurately presented that S.B. 1 only calls for a study of the Illiana Toll Road. The fact is that the governor announced a bi-state study with Illinois in November. S.B. 1, on the other hand, would give the governor the authority to proceed with the Illiana Toll Road and the Indiana Commerce Connector as two new privatized toll roads, even before any study begins.”

Blaney said that some people have been led to believe that the only way to get a study done on the Illiana Toll Road is by enacting S.B. 1. “This is simply untrue,” the statement said.

Recently, the Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution calling for a study of the Illiana Toll Road. John Swanson, the executive director of the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, also recently submitted an opinion piece expressing support for a study of the Illiana Toll Road. “CAPIT believes that it is in the best interests of the public if such position statements make it clear that support for an extensive, independent study is not the same as support for S.B. 1.”

“The public should not be given confusing or conflicting information about such a critical issue,” Blaney said.

CAPIT urged the media—and the public—to read the language of S.B. 1, which is available on line at www.in.gov/legislative

For more information about CAPIT or to get a No-Illiana yard sign or shirt, visit CAPIT’s website at www.no-illiana.com

Posted 3/15/2007