A group opposing the proposed Illiana Expressway is has agreed to team up with the Interfaith Federation and Save the Dunes Council to support what they are calling smart growth across the Region.

Citizens Against Privatized Illiana Toll Road also is distancing itself from a claim that it supports a 1 percent food and beverage tax to support regional busing.

Dave Ahlberg, president of Citizens Against Privatized Illiana Toll Road, said the inaccurate claim was the result of a misunderstanding that arose when his group agreed to team up with the Interfaith Federation and Save the Dunes Council.

CAPIT is neutral on the proposed tax, he said. But the group does share the coalition's opposition to the Illiana Expressway project and the call for alternative forms of transportation.

"We're just a group of like-minded people in some areas," Ahlberg said.

CAPIT's support for the tax was included in a press release announcing a press conference today on the new coalition.

Interfaith Federation Director Pat Jackson confirmed the error and said her group alone in the coalition supports the proposed food and beverage tax.

The shared goal of the coalition is a smart growth study to determine where investment is needed in order to revitalize Northwest Indiana, she said. The study should take the two counties as a whole into consideration, as opposed to the divisions that typically exist between the counties and between north and south Lake County, she said.

The Interfaith Federation took a stand against the proposed Illiana Expressway when it was first proposed 10 years ago, Jackson said. The group felt it would alienate communities in northern Lake County and challenged claims of economic development by pointing out the lack of growth along the existing toll road.

There are also ecological concerns to consider and the loss of 16,000 acres or more of farm land, said Rev. Asher Harris, president of the federation and member of the Regional Bus Authority.

"I'm just glad for once we're coming together," he said.