(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Leaders of communities along the Fox River are considering a recommendation to remove several dams.
A report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers claims removing nine dams from the Fox River from Carpentersville to Montgomery would improve water quality and restore natural habitat.
One of the dams is in Geneva, where Mayor Kevin Burns said it will be at least one year before his city decides whether to ask the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to remove that dam.
He said the deadline for that decision is March of next year, but some people mistakenly thought it was next month.
“I think it was a combination of confusion and misinformation,” he told WBBM. “It is fair to say that those who wish the dam to be removed probably want to make a statement sooner than later. Those who wish the dam to remain were perhaps nervous that a decision was going to be made post-haste.”
In Elgin, city council members narrowly gave preliminary approval to an advisory referendum on the upcoming November ballot, in which voters will be asked whether the Kimball Street dam should be removed.
Elgin Mayor David Kaptain said the referendum will help city council members know what voters want to do with the dam.
Opponents of the referendum claim it could politicize a decision that should be based on science and the environment.
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