(The following story by Ed Collins appeared on the News-Sun website on May 14.)
MUNDELEIN, Ill. — Christopher Ganschow believes the village needs a lobbyist and he just might be the man for the job.
Ganschow envisions his first assignment would be to find funding to mitigate the costly effects village officials anticipate after the proposed $300 million purchase of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway by the Canadian National may have find more than 20 freight trains a day rumbling through town, triple those passing through now.
“From my study of the issue, I believe the proposed CN-EJ&E merger will be approved by the (federal) Surface Transportation Board,” Ganschow told trustees Monday night.
He said his assumption is based on information gleaned from some members of Congress and other public officials that he has worked with over the years on other transportation problems.
“While not a happy result for you or your constituents,” Ganschow said, “it is an eventuality for which communities on the EJ&E corridor might want to prepare.”
He said some of the problems expected as an outcome of the merger include increased residential noise level from the passing freights, and frequent traffic blockages of railroad crossings on busy Route 60/83, as well as at Allanson Road.
Ganschow said alleviating traffic blockages by building grade separations at Route 60/83 and Allanson Road will be very expensive and require federal funding. He indicted his past experience in working with federal officials could be helpful in building legislative support and securing such funding.
Following Ganschow’s presentation, Trustee Jay Schedler asked its appropriateness in light of working with organizations such as the Northwest and Illinois Municipal leagues. Mayor Ken Kessler responded that it was another approach for the board to consider in combating the problem.
“Our ability to stop the merger is limited at best,” Kessler said. Instead, the village should concentrate on how to effectively mitigate the negatives that will occur after the merger, he said.
“If this deal goes through it will be a negative for Mundelein,” according to Village Administrator John Lobaito, adding the board must decide what prudent path to follow in mitigating the problems caused at the Route 60/83 and Allanson Road crossings.
Schedler said the financial impact will be huge, way beyond village resources, with costs running $20 to $30 million required to finance grade separations at both locations.
Trustee Ed Sullivan said, “There’s no other community that’s in the crosshairs like Mundelein. We do have to decide how to proceed, but I don’t think we know the best approach yet.”
Sullivan suggested obtaining some independent references on Ganschow’s previous work, and inquired about the cost for employing legislative counsel. However, Kessler said that will come later based upon the board’s acceptance of the concept.