400 S Green Street

The Illinois Department of Transportation is hosting a meeting tonight to present adjustments to the $475 million Circle Interchange project. The project, justified as way to increase automobile speeds and reduce congestion-related delays and crashes, will still have an ugly flyover over Halsted Street and at eye level of many residents in a nearby apartment building.

In a move that has baffled and frustrated residents of 400 S Green Street, the Illinois Department of Transportation has apparently ruled out a version of the Circle Interchange expansion project that would avoid building a new, elevated highway ramp above Halsted Street. At an April 3 hearing on the project, IDOT told residents the option to avoid building the flyover, known as Alternative 15.4, was "off the table, not even being considered," according to condo board president David Lewis.

Tomorrow is the final day to enter a comment into public record about the Illinois Department of Transportation's Circle Interchange expansion project. Here's a quick rundown of what can realistically be influenced at this point:

The Circle Interchange expansion project that the Illinois Department of Transportation has crammed into the regional planning process is projected to increase pollution and decrease transit ridership, but no one has more reason to be opposed to the project than the 57 families who live at 400 South Green.