(The following story by Richard Wronski appeared on the Chicago Tribune website on May 14, 2009.)
CHICAGO — Several suburban state legislators and mayors called on President Barack Obama Wednesday to fill a vacancy on a federal regulatory board with someone sympathetic to their opposition to more freight trains in their communities.
State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) introduced a resolution in Springfield calling on Obama to nominate a member to the Surface Transportation Board who will consider “significant community impacts related to public safety, noise, vibration, traffic congestion, and other environmental concerns…”
The board in December approved the Canadian National Railway’s acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern line through their suburbs. Canadian National purchased the line to divert freight traffic around Chicago’s congested rail corridor.
“People felt like they spoke up but weren’t listened to,” Holmes said of the thousands of residents who opposed the deal at public hearings.
The board’s three-member governing body has a vacancy due to the departure of W. Douglas Buttrey in March. Holmes and other officials asked Obama to make an appointment “that will protect communities from the unnecessary safety and economic concerns that can be caused by railroad expansion.”
The officials cited letters Obama wrote as a U.S. senator in opposition to Canadian National’s acquisition.