By Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch
WESTVILLE - A standing-room-only crowd of several hundred packed the Westville American Legion on Tuesday for a meeting organized by CAPIT, Citizens Against the Privatized Illiana Tollroad.
They came to ask questions as to the status of a proposed toll road announced in December by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. They wanted to know if it would take away their property and threaten their livelihoods.
Calvin Thompson has farmed 160 acres south of Pinola all of his life. Early Tuesday, he attended a meeting about the potential for ethanol production in Indiana. He agreed that, while both ethanol and the Illiana highway are priorities for Daniels, they could be in conflict with each other.
"We finally got corn above $4 (a bushel) and now they want to take our land away for a road," Thompson said, laughing like a man who could not quite believe the irony of the situation. He added, "We need something to get LaPorte County moving, whether it's an intermodal or an ethanol plant. I'm not joining either side."
Beverly O'Saben, Westville, attended the meeting to find out where the road would be located. She said, "I won't object until I know exactly where it will go. If it takes out a lot of farmland, no, I don't want it."
Thompson, O'Saben and the others were joined by a highly motivated, well-organized corps of citizen activists ready to do battle with the governor and his allies. They, too, seem to have more questions than answers at this point.
Dave Ahlberg of Morgan Township near Valparaiso formed CAPIT in January and now claims to have more than 1,000 members in Porter, Lake and LaPorte counties. He said he was in Westville for the 7 to 9 p.m. meeting Tuesday primarily to educate people and spread the word about how to oppose the highway project.
Each meeting attendee got a sheaf of information from a CAPIT volunteer that included four pre-written letters and envelopes addressed to the area's state representatives. CAPIT made it easy for people to sign the letters, place them in sealed envelopes and hand them in.
They were also ready with yard signs, a newsletter and an invitation to host other meetings in area communities.
The anti-toll road message intended for the legislators was summed up at one point by Ahlberg, the meeting leader, who said, "We don't want it, we don't need it and we won't use it. No way. No how." The statement got a round of applause.
Ahlberg said Senate Bill 1, which was supposedly intended to authorize a study of the Illiana toll road, has already passed the Republican-controlled Senate and is headed to the House of Representatives, where Democrats have a slight majority. Ahlberg said the House transportation committee intends to have public hearings about the bill. Representatives have until the end of the legislative session in April to vote on it.
Ahlberg gave the bill a 50-50 chance of passing before the end of April. A steady stream of questions were posed to Ahlberg by members of the audience. One person said he couldn't get a decent map of the proposed highway from the Internet. "There is no decent map," Ahlberg responded.
"What makes them think truck drivers will pay the toll?" one person asked. Ahlberg said those behind the Illiana highway don't care whether or not it gets used because the project is not really about relieving congestion on the Boorman Expressway, as has been promoted. He claims that Sen. Bill 1 is part of a master highway plan that would eventually connect Mexico, the United States and Canada.
"It almost sounds like science fiction when you get into it," Ahlberg said.
A common fear expressed by audience members was about the government's right to use eminent domain as a justification for buying up private property.
Natalie Werner of Hanna teared up when she talked about her fear that the toll road would "wipe out our entire family." She said her mother and father are living in the house her grandparents owned and that she hoped would one day pass on to her, unless the property is seized for construction of the new road.
Weaver said she's been fighting back tears as she goes door-to-door as a CAPIT volunteer to inform area residents about how to get involved in the grassroots movement. She heard about CAPIT through an e-mail from a friend and she's now a regular participant of "the yahoo group," a message board linked to the CAPIT Web site.
Ahlberg urged everyone to attend the March 10 legislative forum at 10:30 a.m. at the Porter County Expo Center. Area legislators have been invited to attend and hear public concerns about the Illiana project.