Full Text of SR0581 95th General Assembly
SR0581 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Canadian National Railroad is seeking | 3 |
| authorization from the United States Surface Transportation | 4 |
| Board to purchase the principal rail lines of the Elgin, Joliet & | 5 |
| Eastern Railway Company; and
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| WHEREAS, The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company | 7 |
| operates in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana | 8 |
| over 198 miles of track consisting primarily of an arc around | 9 |
| Chicago extending from Waukegan, Illinois southward to Joliet, | 10 |
| then in an easterly direction to Gary, Indiana; and
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| WHEREAS, The proposed acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & | 12 |
| Eastern Railway Company by the Canadian National Railroad does | 13 |
| not promote the public interest because it will endanger public | 14 |
| safety and increase both rail traffic and motor vehicle traffic | 15 |
| congestion; and
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| WHEREAS, If this acquisition is approved, there will be a | 17 |
| considerable increase in the number of trains that will be | 18 |
| traveling on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company line | 19 |
| due to the shifting of a significant amount of train traffic | 20 |
| that currently moves over CN rail lines in the City of Chicago | 21 |
| to sections of the EJ & E rail lines west and south of the City | 22 |
| of Chicago, including a segment that runs through the counties |
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| of Will, DuPage, Grundy, Kane and Cook and the likelihood that | 2 |
| the Canadian National Railroad will grant trackage rights to | 3 |
| other railroads resulting in additional train traffic; and
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| WHEREAS, These counties are experiencing exceptional | 5 |
| population growth, including Will County that is one of the | 6 |
| fastest-growing counties in terms of population growth in the | 7 |
| nation; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Commerce Commission, | 9 |
| there are 133 public highway-rail, grade crossings on the | 10 |
| Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company line with only 104 | 11 |
| being equipped with automatic flashing light signals and gates | 12 |
| for safety; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, The EJ & E currently has 7 public pedestrian-rail | 14 |
| grade crossings that are not equipped with automatic safety | 15 |
| devices; and
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| WHEREAS, The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company line | 17 |
| crosses many of the region's major roadways and countless | 18 |
| thousands of vehicles, including school buses, traverse these | 19 |
| roadways on a daily basis; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, On top of these existing concerns, some | 21 |
| communities will experience freight train traffic every 35 |
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| minutes, which will cause significant increases in congestion | 2 |
| and safety concerns; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Due to the amount of motor vehicle traffic in the | 4 |
| suburban area that would be served by this railroad expansion, | 5 |
| railroad crossings would become more hazardous; and
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| WHEREAS, The Chicago metropolitan region is usually rated | 7 |
| among the worst locations in the nation when it comes to motor | 8 |
| vehicle traffic congestion; and
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| WHEREAS, These communities have engaged in future public | 10 |
| transportation upgrades that would address traffic congestion | 11 |
| and environmental concerns; specifically the STAR Line, a | 12 |
| commuter rail corridor providing rail passenger service around | 13 |
| the outer circumference of the greater Chicago metropolitan | 14 |
| region, will need to utilize a portion of the EJ & E | 15 |
| right-of-way; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, The proposed acquisition could threaten | 17 |
| implementation of the STAR Line; therefore, be it | 18 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 19 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the United | 20 |
| States Surface Transportation Board to not approve the sale of | 21 |
| the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company to the Canadian |
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| National Railroad; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 |
| forwarded to the members of the Illinois Congressional | 4 |
| Delegation.
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