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Northfield resident urges formation of Hap Road planning group, says communication from village has stalled
Summary
Resident Alicia Bellar told the Committee of the Whole she and fellow Hap Road stakeholders have not seen promised follow-up since a Dec. 5 staff memo and urged creation of a resident-inclusive planning group, regular updates and engagement with Cook County and IDOT.
Alicia Bellar, a Hap Road resident, told the Village of Northfield Committee of the Whole that promised follow-up on the Hap Road project has not materialized and urged the board to form a resident-led planning group.
Bellar said she was "just following up on the December 5 email that Patrick sent out" outlining five next steps and that residents have "heard nothing" since. She read the list of steps back to the board — including reevaluating the project area from Winnetka Road to Willow, using existing engineering data, exploring ownership of the roadway from Cook County, reconstituting a Hap Road planning group and developing a robust community engagement plan that notifies project partners such as Cook County and the Illinois Department of Transportation — and said residents remain "in the dark" and distrustful without clearer communication.
Patrick, who spoke as staff in response, said the village has reached out to Cook County and to the village's engineers but "has not heard anything back from Cook County yet," and that staff had delayed more detailed discussion pending a county response. He said his next step would be to send Cook County a formal status letter requesting answers and that he hopes the village can discuss oversight of a planning group at the February meeting. He asked the board to advise how oversight should be structured.
Why it matters: The Hap Road corridor involves county and state jurisdictions and longstanding infrastructure issues that residents say affect safety and daily life; Bellar's request for a resident-inclusive planning group signals continuing local pressure for clearer timelines and direct resident participation in planning decisions.
What happens next: Patrick said staff will pursue a formal letter to Cook County and intends to return to the board in February with recommended next steps and a plan for citizen engagement. The board did not take formal action at the Committee of the Whole meeting on the Hap Road items.
Source: Public comment and staff response during the Committee of the Whole, as recorded in the meeting transcript.
