New Lenox or Tinley Park???? (Mokena, Frankfort: school district, taxes, to live in)

[ajolotl]

I think that taste is just as valid as any other (though it happens not to be mine).

Many people complain though that the majority of our tax dollars shouldn't go to subsidizing your preferences. Honestly, I don't know enough about the subject to say whether that is a fair characterization, though it would appear that highway $$ are spent highly disproportionately compared to public transit ones.

Originally Posted by HighPlainsDrifter73

That may be true, but what do you say to people who like living in the modern exurbs such as New Lenox. There are many people who would never live in an urban area, including myself and many people who prefer the automobile as their primary source of transportation, including myself. I've spent many years in this area and am very comfortable with it, although my preference is rural.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by HighPlainsDrifter73

That may be true, but what do you say to people who like living in the modern exurbs such as New Lenox. There are many people who would never live in an urban area, including myself and many people who prefer the automobile as their primary source of transportation, including myself. I've spent many years in this area and am very comfortable with it, although my preference is rural.

I'd say that while I don't think it's particularly environmentally or socially responsible, it's your choice, to which you're entitled. I'd also say that if a few factors changed (e.g. demographics), I'd bet dimes to dollars that the number of people who share your preference would dwindle considerably. I also agree with ajolotl -- my tax dollars shouldn't be skewed towards your preference. If the people of New Lenox, etc. wanted a highway extension, they should have raised taxes and paid for it. I don't know why my money was used for it.

[HighPlainsDrifter73]

Originally Posted by BRU67

I'd say that while I don't think it's particularly environmentally or socially responsible, it's your choice, to which you're entitled. I'd also say that if a few factors changed (e.g. demographics), I'd bet dimes to dollars that the number of people who share your preference would dwindle considerably. I also agree with ajolotl -- my tax dollars shouldn't be skewed towards your preference. If the people of New Lenox, etc. wanted a highway extension, they should have raised taxes and paid for it. I don't know why my money was used for it.

If you are talking about the south I-355 extension, that road is a toll road. The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority gets no public funds and is not part of the Illinois Department of Transportation. The tollway is a self-sustaining entity which is funded by the collections of tolls. You don't pay if you don't use it. I use it everyday and gladly pay for it since the time savings I enjoy is high and the less stress I have in dealing with surface traffic is greatly reduced. Most of the surface roads to get where I'm going may have speed limits of 45 or 50 with stop signs and traffic lights. I can cruise on the new 355 extension at 70 or 75 with no problems, but I do know that as traffic builds it won't be that way forever.

That being said, some of the towns where 355 goes through did come up with money to pay for some of the clover leafs since it gave the towns access to 355. That was likely a financial decision paid for by the town where the return over time would be greater than the cost.

[BRU67]

The Tollway Authority’s revenue stream would not be possible without the toll roads that taxpayers pay to build. In this case, taxpayers spent $450 million in the late 1980s to build the original I-355 and another $730 million to build the extension this decade.

Sure, I-355 generates revenue but had that money been dedicated to urban public transit, the CTA (or Metra or PACE) would be getting that revenue. It’s a matter of how we choose to allocate our money. Personally, I think adaptive reuse is the way to go, as opposed to “conquering” new frontiers.

[HighPlainsDrifter73]

Originally Posted by BRU67

The Tollway Authority’s revenue stream would not be possible without the toll roads that taxpayers pay to build. In this case, taxpayers spent $450 million in the late 1980s to build the original I-355 and another $730 million to build the extension this decade.

Sure, I-355 generates revenue but had that money been dedicated to urban public transit, the CTA (or Metra or PACE) would be getting that revenue. It’s a matter of how we choose to allocate our money. Personally, I think adaptive reuse is the way to go, as opposed to “conquering” new frontiers.

My understanding of how the tollway works is that bonds are issued for the initial construction and paid back from tolls collected on drivers over decades. Investors purchase the bonds and get a return on it from the tolls.

With the commute I have (south suburbs to north suburbs) with zig zags in between, no mass transit is likely to address my commuting situation. It takes me about an hour each way to cover 50 miles - that's actually pretty good time considering the traffic present in the Chicago area. Any type of mass transit would likely take considerably longer for me to commute to work. By the time any workable mass transit exists for my situation, I'll be retired and moved out from Chicago. It's very difficult to get mass transit to work where you have a matrix of commutes from any point to any other point in many different directions.

Besides, I frequently run errands after work and leave at different times, so I need the flexibility that only a car can provide. This is how I have commuted since I learned to drive and likely for the rest of my life.

I was no fan of governor Blago, but he was the one that provided the final push to get the south 355 extension built. I guess I owe him that. That extension has saved me countless hours of commute time. Many of the other tollways are being widened which will help reduce congestion and make long commutes easier; I view this as a good thing.

[deechee]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Eeek The images of sprawl, paved over farmland and wasted fuel this paragraph creates. My eyes! Almost makes one wish for the days of $3.50/gallon gasoline again.

Yes, this is an old post, but...

I know how ya feel!

People just won't leave well enough alone.

I guess soon there will be no such thing as small town, rural life, but lots of "exurbism," that feeds into major cities. People like myself who just want a simple small home with land are gonna be shocked when they want to buy a home in said rural area, but the taxes are so ridiculous, I could just forget it.

I have seen the attack of the McMansions and SUVs out in exurbia, and sadly they are even looking out into rural Kendall to rot more land.

[deechee]

Originally Posted by 355express

I was not talking about the Lane Bryant shootings only but the "urban influence." Just take a look at any Chicago metro map and look at the suburbs to the east of Tinley( C.C.Hills, Matteson, Markham, Harvey, Hazel Crest) and I think you will see a definate urban influance. Oak forest is not even that nice any more. I have a hard time beliving that Tinley is growing "rapidly" seems just about built out to me.

Sad that people feel this way about nice suburbs such as the ones you mention. I guess anytime a black person moves in, a suburb suddenly has a "urban" edge?

[ajolotl]

Let's not exaggerate -- maybe two or three blacks.

[deechee]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

Let's not exaggerate -- maybe two or three blacks.

It's sad. I wonder if I were white would people take me more seriously? I bet if I were white and moved in next door, people wouldn't be getting alarmed and start selling their homes...

[ajolotl]

You would have to be a registered sex offender for that to happen.