Belleville News Democrat
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Letter to the Editor
I read with interest the front page article on the
Gateway Connector in the November 4 paper.
According to the article, Ray Steege of MACTEC says the public is very
positive about the Gateway Connector project.
I have to wonder which public meetings gave him that impression. Because the meeting on November 3 at SWIC
that I attended, at which Mr. Steege was present, about 9 out of 10 people opposed the project. The
opposition was just as obvious at the IDOT meeting on the evening of November 4th
in Columbia.
Mr. Steege’s comments are just more smoke to make
the public believe that the highway is needed when we know it is not. The people that are positive about the
Gateway Connector are IDOT and the developers who are going to tear up our land
to make a fast buck.
We all need to contact our elected officials and
tell them we don’t need another highway in the Metro East. If they don’t listen we can vote them out of
office.
What we do need is some smart planners who know how
to plan for region and not just for one municipality. If you need ideas to get a letter started or the addresses of
your elected officials, go to the web site www.stop158.org.