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Residents press Prospect Heights officials for sidewalks, cite safety and tax concerns
Summary
Multiple residents urged the council to prioritize sidewalks and explained safety concerns for children and pedestrians; staff outlined grant opportunities (ITEP, Invest in Cook), permitting hurdles (IDOT/rail ROW), the need for roughly 80/20 grant matches, and the option of a Special Service Area for localized funding.
A string of public commenters at the June 22 Prospect Heights City Council meeting pressed elected officials to accelerate sidewalk construction on Camp McDonald Road and nearby streets, citing safety concerns for children walking to parks and pools and asking how the city could retain more property‑tax revenue locally.
Alan Kasoff and later Stan Wilk described habitual pedestrian routes with children and seniors crossing in areas lacking sidewalks. Officials responded that the city had secured an ITEP grant for a sidewalk segment but that changes in Illinois Department of Transportation right‑of‑way permit requirements—specifically as they apply to railroad crossings—delayed the construction timetable, pushing the project to next year despite completed engineering.
Council members and staff explained funding constraints: Prospect Heights typically relies on outside grants that provide large shares of engineering and construction funding (staff described an approximate 80/20 pattern where external funding covers most costs); without such grants, the city lacks capacity to pay multimillion‑dollar sidewalk projects from local revenues alone. Staff also outlined options for concentrated local funding such as creating a Special Service Area (SSA) to assess the handful of properties directly on a project corridor for construction costs.
Residents raised tax‑flow questions—why so much property tax appears to go to Cook County—and staff suggested attending the advertised town‑hall forum where county representatives (including Commissioner Scott Britton) will be present. At the meeting staff credited Commissioner Britton with previously helping secure roughly $538,000 in Invest in Cook grants that advanced four sidewalk projects.
Council members urged residents to pursue constituent advocacy with neighboring jurisdictions where sidewalks cross municipal boundaries and explained that full delivery of a sidewalk project (from engineering through federal construction) typically takes multiple years even with funding in hand.
