As the saying goes: One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor. So goes the Dec. 24 decision by the Surface Transportation Board that allows the sale of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad to Canadian National.
The sale should translate to a drastic reduction of freight trains running through Berwyn, Riverside, Brookfield, La Grange and Western Springs, long a huge problem for road traffic in those communities.
It also will increase rail freight traffic in southern Cook, Will, DuPage, and Lake counties, and communities affected view the sale as a harbinger to traffic and safety problems.
U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-3rd District, of Western Springs called the STB’s decision “a great Christmas gift” to the region. However, Lipinski’s support came only after cautious consideration of the plan and the impact it would have regionally.
“Initially, the projections by Canadian National looked like it would probably be good for residents of my district, but I wanted to see more of an analysis by CN,” he said. “When the environmental impact statement came out last summer, STB said the projections looked like they were legitimate, and looking at the overall project, it would have a positive impact to the region of the whole.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the project had “untold negative consequences on communities in our region and on quality of life for affected residents.” He also said the STB bowed to pressure from Canadian National and came to its decision hastily.
Lipinski said he did not necessarily agree with Durbin’s conclusion.
“The STB took 14 months to look at this and study the situation,” he said. “That is eight extra months as required by law. STB went over and above what it is required by law to study the case.
They require an unprecedented amount of money from CN for grade crossings, other requirements for safety along the EJ&E line. STB is requiring CN to do more. I think it’s a good thing.”
Locally, area officials are breathing a collective sigh of relief now that the controversial purchase has been approved.
North Riverside Village President Richard Scheck, a long-time critic of excessive rail traffic and advocate for a solution to the problem, said it was the best thing that could have happened not only for his community but the metropolitan Chicago area as well.
“We now share that responsibility, and as we said time and time again, we were not trying to push the whole burden off on the northern suburbs; it was more of a sharing of the responsibility,” he said.
Plans for the sale were first announced in 2007 by U.S. Steel, the indirect owner of EJ&E. The $300 million sale is now subject to federal approval.
