(The following article by Guy Tridgell was published in the Chicago Daily Southtown on April 25.)
CHICAGO — A new commuter rail line for the southeast suburbs could be in jeopardy next month.
There is a slight chance the proposed Metra Southeast Service Line could be gravely wounded after a Regional Transportation Authority hearing May 8 about plans to add mass transit in DuPage County.
The point of the hearing is for the RTA to gather public opinion about three plans to add new commuter rail or bus service along the Northwest Tollway. By the end of May, the RTA wants to pick one proposal from ideas submitted by Pace, the Chicago Transit Authority and Metra.
The agency that wins will get its project pushed for a spot in a huge federal transportation bill later this year; the two losers will get an “A” for effort.
But if the Metra plan for the northwest suburbs does not appeal to the RTA, the Southeast Service Line also could bite the dust.
A short history lesson explains why: The northwest suburbs throughout the 1990s pressured the RTA to devise a plan to connect O’Hare International Airport and their booming towns via mass transit.
Pace and the CTA submitted proposals last year, then Metra blew everybody away a couple of months ago with the STAR Line, a $1 billion proposal to connect O’Hare and Hoffman Estates with fresh tracks. The old EJ&E Railroad would provide a link to Joliet.
Metra, however, did not account for south suburban lawmakers raising a stink about the STAR Line, rightfully claiming it did nothing for them.
Resignations at Metra headquarters were demanded.
Political pressure was applied.
Threats were made to sabotage the STAR Line whenever Metra sought help in Springfield and Washington, D.C.
The hullabaloo eventually forced Metra to appease the south suburbs with the Southeast Service Line connecting Chicago and Crete, with stops in Dolton, South Holland, Chicago Heights and Thornton.
Metra insists the STAR Line and the Southeast line are not dependent on each other.
Yet if the STAR Line gets the thumbs down from the RTA, the leverage the south suburban crowd had to build the Southeast Service Line is history. Could both be sacrificed if the RTA gives the STAR Line the boot? Perhaps.
Yes, it is a theory — one that the RTA and Metra insists is inaccurate.
But the outcome of the hearing next month is worth keeping an eye on.
The northwest and southeast suburbs seem worlds apart on most issues. This is one where they might need each other.
The meeting site is the Alumni Hall Annex at Roosevelt University, 1400 N. Roosevelt Blvd., Schaumburg. Times are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“The critical point is we get public input,” RTA spokesman David Loveday said. “We are coming down to the wire.”