(The following story by Nathaniel Zimmer appeared on the Southtown Star website on October 9.)
CHICAGO — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin defended his vote on the recent bailout bill and reiterated his opposition to Canadian National Railway’s purchase of the Elgin Joliet & Eastern Railroad in a conversation with the SouthtownStar’s editorial board Wednesday.
The Illinois Democrat declined to take a stand on whether the state should hold a constitutional convention. The question, which the state must put to voters every 20 years, is on the November ballot.
Durbin voted for the $700 billion bailout, which has not stopped markets from entering a tailspin. While the scale of the government’s intervention in the economy gave him pause, in the end he decided that failing to take action of some kind was “unacceptable,” he said.
Durbin, who as majority whip holds the No. 2 spot in the Senate, is seeking a third term in office. Polls show him with a wide lead over his Republican opponent, Willowbrook physician Steve Sauerberg, who has said he opposes the bailout.
Canadian National wants to buy the EJ&E and increase the number of trains on the line, which runs through a number of Southland communities, including New Lenox, Frankfort, Matteson and Chicago Heights. Those towns strongly oppose the plan.
Durbin said two face-to-face meetings with CN’s president have not changed his mind about the deal. He said the purchase would not reduce total train traffic, merely redistribute it. CN would have to agree to pay much more to build underpasses or overpasses at intersections before Durbin would support the proposal, he said.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board must approve the deal for it to go forward. Durbin said it was conceivable the deal wouldn’t go through.
He attacked railroad companies in general for their attitude toward the public.
“They think they own this country,” he said. “They really do.”
CN announced last week that it would spend $60 million on quiet zones and other improvements as part of the purchase, up from $40 million. Supporters of the deal include U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd) and Chicago Metropolis 2020, a planning organization that says the purchase would reduce truck traffic and shipping costs.
Durbin is “conflicted” about a constitutional convention. While it may be the only way to improve the school-funding system in Illinois, he said, he worries a convention could get bogged down in acrimonious and unproductive debates about social issues.
“Don’t kid yourself, the first issue is going to be gay marriage,” he said.
In addition to Sauerberg, Durbin faces Green Party candidate Kathy Cummings, of Chicago; Larry A. Stafford, of South Beloit, a Libertarian; and Constitution Party candidate Chad N. Koppie, of Gilberts.