After a car struck and killed the second pedestrian on 127th Street this year, state Rep. Bob Rita, who represents part of Blue Island and is from the city, said he hopes to hold a community dialogue that inspires state action.
Residents packed a Blue Island City Council meeting Oct 12, demanding action be taken to improve safety along the roadway near Eisenhower High School. Officials responded that because 127th Street is owned and maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation, most safety measures would be state guided.
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Rita, a Democrat, said he’s asking for input on safety concerns while in Springfield wrapping up the legislative session, and wants to help local leaders guide state actions. His sister, Blue Island Ald. Nancy Rita, also has sought state help.
“I’m calling on immediate action,” Rep. Rita said. “I’ve been in touch with the governor’s office, IDOT and various agencies.”
Rita said Eisenhower High School leaders are hopeful for state action. The road has no island median, meaning pedestrians must cross multiple lanes of traffic, and it has few sidewalks or crosswalks. The state has installed speed limit signs and even reduced some speed limits.
Besides the fatalities, two other teenagers were struck and injured this year. Blue Island police say no drivers who have hit pedestrians this year were intoxicated or otherwise impaired.
“What that tells me is there is an issue and it’s not an isolated issue,” Rita said.
Rita said school officials are pushing for state action.
“They’d like to get some immediate action in terms of signage or what are the issues and how do we prevent this from happening again,” he said. “The school is calling for lighted signs. They’re devastated at what happened.”
Rita said after he traveled the street, he thought trees could be trimmed to make signs more visible.
“When I mentioned the signs and the tree trimming, that’s something that can be done right now. Some of these other ideas or solutions could take a while,” he said, asking residents for suggestions. “If they have ideas, let the agency directors and the state officials to know what’s going on.”
He said that he would like to bring in the engineers from IDOT to consider ways to improve pedestrian safety.
Rita said when he also hopes to host a community meeting soon.
“I feel for the families that are going through this,” he said. “When you hear about a girl, she’s coming back from play practice, and you hear about how it occurred you start to think well, what if this was my child.”
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.