Kane County Reporter

State Senator Don DeWitte shared information about the state's long-range transportation plan, stating, "This program aims to advance the state’s mobility landscape by outlining goals, objectives, and strategies for the next 20 to 30 years," in a Sept. 19 Facebook post.

"IDOT has announced the next phase of public input for the Move Illinois: 2024 Long-Range Transportation Plan," said DeWitte, according to Facebook. "This program aims to advance the state's mobility landscape by outlining goals, objectives, and strategies for the next 20 to 30 years."

According to DeWitte's Facebook post, he shared a link to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) news release, which explained that the public provided a general vision and goals for the transportation plan for the next 20-30 years. Now, questions have been developed based on the initial feedback. The department will hold community events where IDOT staff and residents can speak directly, and residents can complete a survey. An advisory group of residents, business owners, and transportation professionals helps to form the goals and vision for the plan at each stage.

Screenshot of Sen. Don DeWitte's Sept. 19 Facebook post | State Senator Don DeWitte Facebook page

"Long-term planning and public engagement are core functions of IDOT. We look forward to your involvement and input as we build a plan that will help future generations to grow and succeed in Illinois," said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman.

At the Move Illinois Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) website, Illinois residents can enter a self-guided public meeting or take the survey to provide feedback for the state to use as it moves forward with the planning. The online public meeting includes an overview of the three-phase process, the project schedule, and information on previous LRTPs. The document created in this process is meant to help policymakers, transportation agencies, and stakeholders make decisions, allocate funds, and prioritize projects included in the LRTP.

In this second phase, IDOT will consider accessibility, equity, livability, mobility, safety, resiliency, and the economy according to the Move Illinois LRTP website.

The first phase of this project began in May 2023 with data collection, an initial online meeting, and a first survey of Illinois residents. That phase concluded with objectives and goal setting. The second phase is expected to run through September 2024 and include strategy identification, a second survey, and a second online meeting. The third phase is expected to wrap up in 2025 with a third online meeting, a draft plan recommendation document, and the final LRTP according to the project schedule portion of the LRTP website.

Senator Don DeWitte was appointed to represent the people of the 33rd Senate District in 2018. His previous governmental experience includes time as an alderman in St. Charles from 1993 to 2005 and as mayor of St. Charles from 2005-2013.