Oswego, Yorkville May Hire Lobbyist For Metra Access

KENDALL COUNTY, IL — Yorkville and Oswego might hire a lobbyist to push for Metra access in Kendall County, according to reports. If they're successful, the BNSF Railway will extend beyond Aurora and into Kendall County, the Aurora Beacon-News reports.

On Tuesday night, the Yorkville City Council and Oswego Village Board will decide whether to authorize a contract with Fletch, O'Brien, Kasper & Nottage, a Chicago-based lobbying firm.

“The lobbyist firm ups our odds of getting money out of the capital bill and keeps Metra on track. Without funding, Metra is just a dream,” Oswego Village President Gail Johnson said, according to the Beacon-News.

If approved, Yorkville and Oswego would share the $7,000 fee, or an annual cost of around $84,000 split between the two towns. A spokeswoman for Oswego also said that the contract would be closed after a capital bill is approved, which is expected to happen in June — a move that would reduce the cost of the contract by about half.

See more on the Aurora Beacon-News.

See more on Patch: Help Bring Metra Service To Oswego

Photo credit: Patch File/Patch Staff

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Oswego and Yorkville would each pay $7,000 per month for the contract; that cost will be shared between the two towns, which would each pay $3,500. Patch apologizes for the error.