(The following story by Andre Salles appeared on the Sun-Times website on August 6.)
CHICAGO — Members of the Illinois congressional delegation went into Tuesday’s hearing believing Canadian National Railway’s buyout of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern line would be a bad idea.
And two hours of testimony didn’t change their minds.
At the hearing at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago, representatives heard from local leaders and from state agencies on the buyout, which would divert freight train traffic from an already-clogged Chicago system and run it through suburban communities, including Joliet, Plainfield, Naperville and Aurora.
Very little of what they heard was good news.
From Philip Pagano, executive director of Metra, legislators heard how the increase in rail traffic may affect the proposed STAR line, a suburb-to-suburb commuter service in the works for more than three years. The STAR line would share the EJ&E tracks.
“Clearly, our job would be easier without Canadian National running the EJ&E,” Pagano said. “Our issue is one of co-existing on a rail line with both freight and commuter traffic. We believe it can be done at a reasonable price.”
From Diane O’Keefe, regional engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation, they heard that the state would not be able to pay for any new grade separations along the line for at least five years.
No room for new projects
Traditionally, railroad companies only pay between 5 and 10 percent of these grade separations, with state and federal dollars accounting for the rest. CN has budgeted $40 million for mitigation along the line, which many local leaders believe would not be enough to pay for one grade separation, let alone the 15 crossings (out of 133) the federal Surface Transportation Board believes would need work.
O’Keefe said IDOT has about $2.7 billion in its budget for projects within the six-county area around Chicago for the next six years. This leaves no room for new projects.
“The bottom line is, new needs will join an ever-growing list of unfunded needs in the six-county area and the state,” she said.
And from the members of The Regional Answer to Canadian National, a group of roughly 40 communities opposed to the deal, legislators heard that the sale will back up traffic, will endanger schoolchildren crossing the tracks, and will delay emergency-response vehicles from getting sick patients to hospitals on time. Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner spoke against the proposal, as he has done for months.
Only one voice spoke in favor of the deal — Buffalo Grove Trustee Jeffrey Berman, who noted that increased train traffic for Aurora and other communities would mean decreased traffic and noise for his town.
In a statement, Canadian National criticized legislators for not acknowledging the benefits the transaction would bring for more than 60 Chicago-area communities, which company officials say is roughly twice the number that would see increased rail traffic.