(The following story by Andre Salles appeared on The Beacon News website on January 28, 2009.)
AURORA, Ill. — On Tuesday, aldermen unanimously agreed to join in on an appeal of Canadian National Railway’s proposed purchase of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern rail line.
But what they were really saying is this: the fight isn’t over, and we’re in it for the long haul.
The City Council voted to give The Regional Answer to Canadian National, a coalition of suburban communities dedicated to fighting the acquisition, permission to include the city in a complaint filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals earlier this month.
Aldermen also agreed to spend an additional $7,500 for legal fees associated with this appeal.
This will be on top of the $10,000 Aurora already has spent with TRAC during its year-plus battle against Canadian National. The company wants to divert the majority of its freight trains from the crowded Chicago rail system and onto the suburban EJ&E. This would quadruple the number of trains barreling through some areas, but CN has consistently argued that the deal would be good for the Chicago region as a whole.
Last week, Naperville approved a similar resolution, and that city will contribute $7,500 to the effort as well. The combination of the two cities, in the words of Aurora Alderman Rick Lawrence, adds up to “a pretty big dog on the street.”
Aurora officials were emboldened by the Illinois Commerce Commission, who last week filed a petition with the federal Surface Transportation Board, requesting they reconsider their approval of the deal. The STB approved the transaction in December, after studying the potential impacts for a year.
But the ICC’s executive director, Tim Anderson, believes that study did not go far enough. His letter takes the board to task for not performing detailed studies on potential traffic problems, issues at intersections with signals, pedestrian safety and other issues.
“The ICC concurs with our contentions that this study was badly done and rushed through the process,” said Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner. “It supports the idea of us pursuing it further, because we are correct, and we have been correct.”
Additionally, Anderson disagreed with the idea that an overpass at Ogden Avenue in Aurora could begin construction by 2015. Anderson believes more time — at least five more years — would be needed for proper planning.
CN must pay 67 percent of the estimated $50 million cost of that overpass, but the remaining money must come from public funds.