Suburban Sprawl
by Lee Presser
The Changing Illinois Landscape is a report by the Illinois Department
of Natural Resources, Office of Realty and Environmental Planning, which
was undertaken by staff to "assess the underlying causes of sprawl."
This twenty-four page report successfully states the urban-dweller point
of view. In short, the report asserts that cars and decentralized work
have allowed white folks to leave the cities behind so they can build
big houses in the country which need roads, water and sewers which are
unfairly subsidized by tax money which should be used for more pressing
societal problems.
In its Executive Summary, the causes of sprawl are identified as low
density households, auto travel which is heavily subsidized, electronic
information transfer which has "reduced the advantages of central
business districts," and an expanded service and trade sector of the
economy. They also list "Lifestyle Choices" which lead people away from
the city. First is a reluctance to "live in urban areas because of
crime and troubled schools." Second is "the lure of the white picket
fence" and the desire to be "well-removed from undesirable elements such
as poorer neighborhoods and apartments." The executive summary also
provides the reader with an extensive list of government policies which
are leading Illinois in the wrong direction. Among these policies is
the "deductibility of mortgage loan interest and property taxes," auto
subsidies which "encourage excessive driving," municipal infrastructure
subsidies which encourage the building of new roads, water systems,
sewer systems, schools, and other public investments, and zoning which
is "often used to favor property tax revenue maximization over land use
rationalization."
The Overview states that ... "shrinking households, the lure of suburban
lifestyle, the predominance of the car, and the rise of the service and
trade sectors are all long-term and pervasive influences that are
unlikely to reverse course soon. Therefore, development of the urban
fringes will likely continue to aggravate threats to natural resources."
The authors of this report are listed as John O'Conner, Wayne Hartel,
and Tom Heavisides. Their names appear above the Director of the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Brent Manning, and Governor
George Ryan.
Governor Ryan and the others have said to us who live downstate and
outside of high density cities that our lifestyle choices, "continue to
aggravate threats to natural resources." To the contrary, we are the
ones who are threatened by pencil-pushing know-it-all bureaucrats who
have the answers to how best life should be lived in 21st Century
Illinois. The Governor's report is a slap at our lifestyle and an overt
threat to future economic development and security. We need new roads
to prevent gridlock like that which is regularly found on Chicago
highways. We need new water and sewer systems to handle migrating and
expanding populations. We need new infrastructure just like they do in
the cities and we don't want to be made to feel like step-children when
we make honest and rightful appropriation demands in the Legislature.
Why does the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Realty
and Environmental Planning know what is best for us and our children?
The answer is, they don't. We know what is best for us and don't need
nor want members of the Executive Branch of government to limit our
development. The Constitution states that the Legislature is where the
representatives of the people meet to decide how money will be spent and
it is there that we will fight for what is right for us. We will not be
treated as children, who need instruction on how to live a "good life."
|
