CHICAGO (AP) – The Illinois Appellate Court has ruled against environmental groups that were seeking to stop a proposed 47-mile highway between Illinois and Indiana.
The Environmental Law and Policy Center initially filed the lawsuit in 2014 against the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The Transportation Department sought to add the project to a long range transportation plan in 2013 and 2014. The Metropolitan Planning Organization voted to include the project. The lawsuit challenged the move, saying the organization needed approval from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning first.
The Daily Southtown reports that the appellate court ruled last month that the board’s approval was advisory and not mandatory.
An Environmental Law and Policy Center official says the organization plans to appeal the decision.