Burns Challenges Lauzen on Incinerator Issue

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns fired the first salvo in the election for Kane County Board chairman Thursday, e-mailing a press release that challenges his opponent, state Sen. Chris Lauzen, "to offer more details of a plan to site a garbage incinerator within Kane County."

According to a Daily Herald story published on Aug. 13, Lauzen proposed the idea of "solid waste power plants" in Kane County. Lauzen has not released details of what "private funds" would be used to cover the "$30 million to $500 million" price tag or where such facilities would be located.

"From Day One of any such proposal, residents who could lose even the slightest bit of their way of life must be aware of, and involved in, the process," Burns said. "Municipal leaders around the county, including myself, also should not be left to guess about what he's thinking."

Burns added that a garbage incinerator proposal is out of touch with the wishes of county residents, including those in central Kane County who are calling for positive redevelopment of the former Kane County Jail site and adjacent Settler's Hill landfill area.