Save our business, our farms, our quality of life, and our unique environment.

I am concerned with protecting a quality lifestyle for Southern Illinois. I disagree with the purpose, planning and development of the Shawnee Parkway Project, a proposed 4-lane limited access highway that would cut through Alexander, Pulaski and Union counties in order to connect Interstate 57 to the Intersection of IL Route 3 and IL Route 146. The purported benefits are questionable and the construction of the highway will have negative effects on the quality of life in affected and surrounding counties.

My concerns include:

Loss of agricultural land: Through eminent domain, hundreds of acres of quality farmland will be removed from production, impacting family farms and private homeowners, and adversely affecting tax revenues to local governments. The proposed parkway could result in restricted drainage and increased flooding.

Negative impact to the local economies: The "Keep It Local" Campaign has gained momentum in numerous towns in Southern Illinois. The Parkway will reroute traffic from the existing municipalities removing existing and potential consumers/customers. The exodus of businesses and jobs will continue.

Impact on tourism: The Shawnee Parkway will divert tourism from Southern Illinois instead of promoting it. Motorists are less likely to exit a limited access highway, which will negatively impact ecotourism such as local wineries, bed and breakfast and cabin rentals.

A slanted process: Governmental proponents of the Shawnee Parkway and the contractor conducting the feasibility study have so far largely restricted participation in their decision-making to "stakeholders" who appear to have a self-interest in seeing the highway built. Instead of openly presenting the question to communities that stand to be affected by the Shawnee Parkway to see what residents think, they appear to be stacking the deck to favor building it.

Proponents are almost certain to play the "jobs" card in presenting the case for building the Shawnee Parkway, dangling a promise of construction jobs before Southern Illinoisans hungry for good-paying employment opportunities. I don’t fall for this false argument. I am in favor of seeing more government funds devoted to job-creating improvements to our decaying transportation infrastructure in Southern Illinois.

The same government dollars spent on renovating existing roadways and bridges would create just as many construction jobs as this project. The same government dollars spent on other infrastructure projects, such as improving and expanding passenger and other rail service in our state, could create even more quality jobs. There are plenty of better choices for creating good-paying jobs than ramming a boondoggle project through the heart of Southern Illinois.

I oppose the Shawnee Parkway.