(The following article by Steve Lord was posted on the Aurora Beacon News website on October 6.)
GENEVA, Ill. — No one knows better about the increased freight traffic on the Union Pacific Railroad west line than people here.
Trains are stacked on the far east side, as well as west of the city, as they wait to get to the railport in Chicago. Backups at the Route 38 crossing just east of Kautz Road are longer and longer, and occur with more frequency.
The greater freight traffic is good news to the Union Pacific, and to the Chicago region as a whole. It is part of what makes Chicago “the freight capital of the world,” according to Frank Beal, executive director of Metropolis 2020, a Chicago regional planning organization.
But that designation could be threatened by a lack of investment in the freight system, Beal said recently when Metropolis 2020 officials had a discussion with members of the media. Metropolis 2020, formed by the Chicago Commercial Club, is a group of public officials, planners and business people from throughout the Chicago region that looks at issues relating to the area.
Since releasing its first book in 2000, the organization has released studies on traffic congestion, housing and other issues affecting growth. It was legislation first proposed by Metropolis 2020 that led to combining the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission and the Chicago Area Transit Study into one regional planning organization.
Metropolis 2020 also is pushing for CREATE, a program developed to put more financial resources into streamlining and cleaning up Chicago’s rail freight system.
“The saying right now is, it takes two days to get freight from the West Coast to Chicago, and two days to get it through Chicago,” Beal said.
CREATE includes some $1.5 billion in rail improvements. Right now, between commitments from the federal government, the state, the railroads and the city of Chicago, there is about $330 million pledged.
“It’s not as much as we wanted, but it’s a start,” Beal said.
Metropolis 2020 officials are pushing for a central organization or authority, created by state legislation, to oversee CREATE. Beal called the current working structure “dysfunctional.”
The paperwork still is being done for $100 million from the federal government, which was part of the Transportation Bill passed and signed last year.
“We are moving way too slow,” Beal said. “If we don’t get moving, there is no chance for further federal money. So, not only do we risk losing current dollars pledged, we risk losing future money.”