Lighted crosswalks, lane reconfiguration and a reduced speed limit were among a few of the suggestions that came out of the packed community meeting June 2 regarding safety on 47th Street.

For Matt Cook of Countryside, it is a heartbreaking problem.

The meeting was prompted by the death of his wife, Cari Cook, who was killed while crossing the busy four-lane street with her two children May 19. Her 4-month-old son remain hospitalized with a fractured leg while her 2-year-old daughter was unharmed.

More than 300 people gathered at Seventh Avenue School in La Grange — just blocks from the Cook family’s Countryside home and the site where the young mother was killed — to hear what La Grange officials plan to do about making the road safer for pedestrians.

Matt Cook was one of the last of several people to address the crowd. He quietly introduced himself and announced that he, his family and friends had worked last weekend to collect 250 signatures on a petition urging measures to be taken to improve safety on 47th Street.

At the top of his list was to reduce the speed limit and strong police enforcement.

“We even mentioned here to talk to our friends and neighbors to ask them to slow down and watch for pedestrians, but it’s my belief many people won’t listen to those comments and will do whatever they feel they want to do,” Matt Cook said. “It’s my idea that police presence is the best way to slow down traffic if there are no other devices to do that.”

Officials said there would be no quick fix to the issue, and that no decisions would be made at the meeting. Community input  was necessary to find a comprehensive solution to reducing risks for pedestrians who cross 47th Street, they said.

The fact that 47th street is a state road complicates matters since any physical improvements would require approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Kensington Avenue resident Jim Longino called on state Reps. Jim Durkin, R-82nd District, of Western Springs and Michael Zalewski, D-21st District , of Chicago, who attended the meeting, to use their influence in Springfield to find a solution.

“It seems to me, as a resident, we really do have a hang-up trying to address safety issues in our community, a walking community,” Longino said. “We really need to have you be at the forefront of this and not have us mired down in red tape so that tragedies like this won’t happen again.”

To that end, Durkin promised he would work toward expediting having the jurisdiction of 47th street transferred from IDOT to the village. The potential jurisdiction change would help eliminate a drawn-out planning process that many people in the audience expressed concerns over.

“I’ve been in the legislature for 12 years and I know IDOT is programmed to say no,” Durkin said. “That’s the way they operate, but they won’t get away with it this time.

Among those recommendations discussed for further study was lowering the speed limit, reducing 47th Street between La Grange Road and East Avenue to three lanes, implement a dedicated crossing at Sedgewick Park and installing more curb cuts to facilitate pedestrians crossing the road.

Village President Elizabeth Asperger began the meeting by saying the accident has shaken the entire community.

“The tragic death of a young mother is something that we all feel in our core,” she said. “We grieve with and for the entire Cook family.”

A citizens group is forming to monitor the progress of village and state officials in coming up with a plan to intensify safety along 47th Street.

Blackstone Avenue resident Jackie Clifton said Friday, June 6, the group plans to formally meet this week to set both short and long-term objectives it would like to see initiated as a result of the June 2 meeting.

“We are starting with a small group with a passion to make a change on the street,” Clifton said. “But most importantly, we wanted to be a presence for the village and the state. We’re willing to help to make that change. We’re looking at this to be a very powerful and positive group. We’re not going to be controversial, we’re not out to fight issues.”

Those interested in participating can call Clifton at (708) 354-1983 or Kathy Wolf at (708) 579-1927.

Chief: More staff needed for better police presence
Some residents expressed concerns June 2 that police officers were not patrolling 47th Street for speeders as much as they should.

La Grange Police Chief Michael Holub explained said only four cars are patrolling throughout the community per shift.

“In the morning if there was an auto accident, two officers might be tied up and that reduces our patrol forces to two officers,” Holub said. “Weekdays during the school year, we are trying to patrol eight schools with four officers. If there is any deviation from that, then there is a shuffling or reassigning of duties.

It essentially comes down to the amount of manpower available, he said.

“When you ask for three or four cars to come to your corner, that’s the whole shift,” he said.

Holub also emphasized the investigation into the fatal accident was ongoing and the department was still collecting data for the Illinois State Police Accident Reenactment Team, which is handling the case, and waiting results from blood tests given to the drivers.