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Spring, 2008 Spring, 2007 June, 2003 Articles PREVIOUS ARTICLES THE ELK GROVE VILLAGE -- 2001 O'HARE EXPANSION ISSUES ELK GROVE VILLAGE PLANNED WITH O'HARE IN MIND Elk Grove Village, like many communities in large metropolitan areas, recognized the need for comprehensive planning since its incorporation in 1956. Our vision for Elk Grove Village guided its development for the past 45 years. During the 1950s, the Centex Corporation researched the entire Chicagoland area for a location to develop an ideal municipality following a diverse and progressive development plan. Jack Pritzker and Centex realized the great potential of the Elk Grove Village area for that ideal community, and partnered to bring that plan to life. Through their partnership, Centex and the Pritzker Family began funding the initial acquisition of nearly 5,000 acres of farm property which would eventually be incorporated in 1956 as the Village of Elk Grove. For over 25 years, Centex and Jack Pritzker worked closely with local officials to implement the highly successful development plan for the community. Their vision included a 5.4 square mile industrial park buffered from the 5.5 square mile residential community, with innovative design features tailored to meet the needs of residents and businesses. Incomparable quality of life was the overriding theme of the plan that Jack Pritzker and Centex pioneered, with convenient access to modern amenities, skillfully planned buffer zones, and low taxes. Our residential subdivisions were developed in self-contained neighborhoods, free from through traffic, conflicting non-residential uses, buffered from O'Hare Airport by the nation's largest consolidated industrial park, and constructed to minimize the impact of the current runway configuration at O'Hare Airport. The current configuration takes flights either over the industrial park, Northwest Tollway and Busse Woods Forest Preserve or follows the Thorndale Road corridor. The residential sections of the Village were separated from the airport and consciously planned with O'Hare Airport in mind, However, any expansion of O'Hare will put significantly more air traffic directly over Elk Grove Village in areas never planned with buffers from air traffic. Sound planning and quality public services earned Elk Grove Village the designation as "One of the 50 Fabulous Places to Raise a Family". Our community involvement earned the Village three 1st Place Governor's Hometown Awards in the past two years, as well as a national Urban Innovation Award from the National League of Cities in 1995.
For more O'Hare expansion information, please visit the web site of the Suburban O'Hare Commission www.suburban-ohare.org. NOW IS THE TIME The Village of Elk Grove and the Suburban O'Hare Commission are seeking volunteers to protect our quality of life, our tax base and our schools. If you would like to participate by taking an active role in opposing the expansion of O'Hare Airport, call the Suburban O'Hare Commission at (630) 594-1166. |
