McHenry County Board delays vote on speed limit reduction

Drivers on Lakewood Road near Lake in the Hills will not be seeing new speed limit signs in the near future after the McHenry County Board opted to postpone a vote on lowering the speed limit.

The proposal consists of lowering the speed limit on Lakewood Road between Ackman Road and Algonquin Road from 45 to 40 mph.

The McHenry County Transportation Committee didn’t advance another proposal to lower the speed limit on a section of Pyott Road, also in Lake in the Hills, between Oak and Willow streets.

Board member Michael Skala, R-Huntley, who voted against the change in committee, moved to put the Lakewood Road change on 30-day review.

“In my opinion, this should be on 30-day review for ordinances,” Skala said. “This has not been on 30-day review.”

The proposed speed limit reduction was voted on in committee Jan. 31 and appeared before the County Board for consideration Tuesday evening. Ordinance changes such as speed limit reductions typically are placed on a 30-day review before the County Board officially votes on them.

The board agreed by unanimous voice vote to delay the final decision until the March meeting to give it that time in review.

Since the regularly scheduled March meeting would have coincided with the March 19 primary election, board Chair Mike Buehler announced Tuesday that March’s meeting will be moved to the 26th.

Half of the County Board, including Buehler, will appear on a primary ballot, although board member Eric Hendricks, R-Lake in the Hills, is the only incumbent who faces a primary challenger.

He’s running against former board member Robert “Bob” Novak in the District 3 Republican primary.

The other contested race for the board is between Paul Thomas and Peter Suffield, who are vying in a GOP primary to be the candidate who tries to unseat District 7 board member Lou Ness, a Democrat, in the November general election.