What's with the 88th Avenue weed garden in Palos Hills?

I have been avoiding 88th Avenue for a long time now due to the road work. It was only recently that I drove 88th Avenue from 87th Street to 107th Street.

In Hickory Hills we drove behind a truck watering the new sod. From 87th to 95th not only was the road work completed, but the sod and trees were in place. Except for a couple of blocks you wouldn't know that the roadwork had taken place. Everything was back in place and growing.

By contrast 88th Avenue between 95th and 107th is a mess. The weeds are at least three feet high in most places. There are piles of dirt along the unfinished parkways. A friend described it as looking like an abandoned project.

What happened in Palos Hills that the road work has completely stopped and the weeds are now taking over? Why did the sod and trees get planted in Hickory Hills, but not Palos Hills? Why is it that citizens are not being updated about the project? Could it be that no one in the Palos Hills City Hall knows what is happening? It certainly seems that way from the outside. 

In the Summer/Fall 2013 Palos Hills Happenings Mayor Jerry Bennett announced "the completion of the fully re-constructed 88th Avenue." It seems to me that it's not done until the landscaping is complete. Mayor Bennett does say in the same newsletter that "the final landscape of the project should be finished by the end of June including trees to be planted in the parkway."

Well, we're at the end of July and I haven't seen any signs of work for about two months. It seems as if Mayor Bennett doesn't have the complete project timeline if he thought the landscaping should have been completed a month ago. Mayor Bennett's self-congratulatory newsletter article about the completion of the project has an out-of-touch feeling to it as I drive down 88th Avenue watching the weed garden grow.

I talked with several residents recently as I walked down the new 88th Avenue sidewalks. They are tired of the constant delays. They are frustrated that every piece of information they receive about the project timeline is wrong. Mostly they are frustrated that they are still living with piles of dirt in their front yard and weed gardens on the parkway. It's time for Palos Hills elected officials to find out what is going on and share the information with its citizens.