Marengo Council to Revisit 2018 Promise Against New Access at I-90 Roundabouts

The Marengo City Council will discuss Monday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 132 E. Prairie St., whether to back away from a promise the city made in 2018: that it would not seek or support new road access onto Route 23 at the I-90 interchange. It is a discussion item, so no vote is scheduled, and the agenda allows public comment when the council reaches it.

The interchange's two roundabouts on Route 23 each have three legs: the highway north, the highway south, and a tollway ramp coming in from the east. A "fourth leg" would be a new road off the west side of a roundabout, into the land there.

Why the City Said No

In July 2018, while the Illinois Department of Transportation was reviewing the interchange's engineering plans, it asked Marengo to agree not to pursue access along Route 23 between Coon Creek and Harmony roads, according to the city's 2018 agenda supplement. The council agreed 5-0 on July 23, 2018. As the minutes summarize it, the resolution was meant "to prevent the 'fourth leg' off each of the roundabouts." Council members amended the wording that night to "additional or new access."

City Administrator Derik Morefield's memo for Monday says staff are "still working to identify how binding" that resolution is, and that the discussion is meant to "gauge the level of Council support." The resolution the packet attaches is the unsigned, unamended draft. The memo does not say who asked for the change or which roundabout it concerns.

What Is on the West Side

The land west of the south roundabout, about 38 acres, already has city approval for a travel center with fueling and a restaurant, along with warehousing, distribution, commercial vehicle parking as an accessory use, auto repair and light manufacturing. The council adopted that use variance, Ordinance 23-11-1, on Nov. 13, 2023, and council approval of site plans is still required before building permits. County records now list the owner as Emaar Real Estates 3 LLC of Oswego.

At the October 2023 planning commission hearing, the minutes list Mike Deserto of DK & KT Holdings LLC, the petitioner, as representing the contract purchaser and developer. Alderman DeSerto recused himself from the council vote a month later and left the chambers.

In October 2024, then-City Administrator Nick Radcliffe told the council he had met with "Mr. Lazar," who, as the minutes summarize it, "is anxious to get the development at the tollway for the travel center." The parcel west of the north roundabout, about 31 acres, belongs to Lazar Bros Ent Inc of Hampshire, county records show.

A note on this section: it is a little different from what we usually run. We are still not telling you how to feel about any of it. We promised to report what happened and help you take part, and when the record points somewhere without proving it, showing you where it stops is part of that promise.

What We're Watching

Nothing is decided Monday. This is a discussion item, so reversing the 2018 resolution would take a vote at a later meeting. Even then the city does not control the road. Route 23 belongs to the state, and the 2018 resolution notes the Tollway had already set access limits at the ramps. What the council can change is whether Marengo objects.

An eight year old resolution does not usually come back on its own. Those two properties are the ones the record ties to a development interest, and one of them already carries approval for a travel center that has not been built.

We cannot tell you who asked for this. The packet does not name a requester and the memo does not either. Monday is the most likely place that answer surfaces, and we will report what the council says.

Marengo Weekly reviewed the Sept. 28, 2026 council agenda and packet, the July 23, 2018 council agenda supplement, resolution and minutes, the Oct. 16, 2023 planning and zoning commission minutes, the Nov. 13, 2023 and Oct. 28, 2024 council minutes, and McHenry County parcel records for this article.