From State Rep. Allen Skillicorn:

Lake In The Hills Park & Ride A Prime Example of Government Waste

Crystal Lake, IL – Back in 2009, McHenry County initiated the project that became the Lake In The Hills Park-and-Ride lot at the intersection of Illinois Route 31 and Virginia Street. 

The County applied for and received federal Congestion, Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding to engineer and construct the facility.

The total investment of CMAQ funding for design, construction and oversight was $745,316.94.

While some may argue that no state or local funds were expended as the project qualified for 100 percent CMAQ funding, that doesn’t mean the money magically appeared for what is mostly an empty parking lot surrounded by concrete quarries.

Almost three-quarters of a million dollars of federal taxpayer money was expended, and as Governing points out, Illinois is a net payer to the Federal government, therefore local taxpayers did bear some of the burden of the initial costs and they definitely bear the ongoing maintenance costs of about $14,000 annually so a few may park a trailer or two.

Skillicorn stated,

“The Lake In The Hills Park-and-Ride lot is just another example of government wasting your hard earned money under the cover of ‘federal funding,’ as if it isn’t taken from your right pocket locally, while they take it from your left pocket federally.”