Landfill Update

Your telephone calls to the county board members have made a very big difference.

At Tuesday night’s county board meeting, several board members told me that they had received a huge number of telephone calls from all of you opposed to changing the wording in the present Solid Waste Plan. You want the wording to continue to say, “no new or expanded landfills in Grundy County.”

It is important for everyone to realize that, for the past year, the Solid Waste Update Steering Committee has had half its members employed by the landfill or garbage companies.

The county board has not heard from you until now.

It is also important to realize that half the county board members do not live near Morris and may feel no impact by a change in the Solid Waste Plan that would permit an expansion of a landfill. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The county and city of Morris spent $100,000 to object to the most recent application in Kendall County because it would be located near an aquifer that supplies our county’s water supply. They also objected because landfills attract seagulls, which cause damage to airplanes flying into and out of the Morris Airport.

If the Grundy County Board opposed a proposed landfill in Kendall County for those reasons, it would seem logical they would also oppose changing the wording in the Grundy County Solid Waste Plan that would permit an expanded landfill in Grundy County.

A landfill, after it has been closed, becomes nonproductive – provides no jobs or real estate taxes forever in future years. And, when it leaks into the county’s aquifer, it affects our entire county water supply. This is of importance to everyone in our entire county, not just those living near a landfill.

The county coard chairman, Frank Halpin (815-237-2368) lives in Gardner. The county board’s vice chairman, Richard Joyce (815-634-4521) lives in Coal City. It is their leadership that will sway the undecided county board members, such as Dick Steele (815-942-4493) or John Almer (815-942-5091).

I have given every county board member an 8-by-10 envelope filled with published articles about the negative effects of landfills. Next time you phone a county board member, ask if he or she has taken the time to read it. This is a very serious vote, which will have an impact on all generations in the future.

The Solid Waste Update Steering Committee (half of its members are employees of garbage or landfill companies) will make its recommendation to the Grundy County Environmental Committee at 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, in the Grundy County Board Room. John Galloway (815-941-4611) is the chairman of the Solid Waste Update Steering Committee.

The Grundy County Board’s Environmental Committee will make its recommendation to the entire county board at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, in the Grundy County Board Room. I learned Tuesday night that Richard Joyce (815-634-4521) is now the chairman of the Grundy County Board’s Environmental Committee.

I will not be able to be at the June 9 meeting. One year ago, I made reservations to take my grandchildren to Disney and, as you can understand, I cannot cancel in order to attend the meeting in Morris.

Every county board member knows my thoughts and the reasons for those thoughts. If the county board members hear your thoughts and read the educational material I provided to them, then they will vote to keep the wording in the present Solid Waste Plan, which does not permit any new or expanded landfills.

They are your elected officials and need to hear your thoughts.

Our community will be as good as we make it or as bad as we allow it to become as the result of our non-action. Please phone every board member and let them know your thoughts and all attend both meetings. Thank you.