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[Posted by Kevin Fanning]
* Rep. Roskam calls for legislation to block Canadian National’s proposed purchase of the EJ & E Railway…
Specifically, the Wheaton Republican’s legislation would designate a 36-mile stretch of the EJ&E railway through Chicago suburbs as a “Corridor for Inter-Suburban Commuter Rail.”
If enacted, Roskam said the initiative would promote the creation of the Suburban Transit Access Route, known as the STAR line, and halt CN’s attempted use of the EJ&E. The STAR line would provide for suburb-to-suburb train commuting by connecting nearly 100 towns from Joliet to O’Hare International Airport.
* Independent candidate Allan Stevo has entered the 10th Congressional District race against Republican Mark Kirk and Democratic challenger Dan Seals…
A University of Illinois graduate, Stevo said in his statement that he would base his decisions in Congress strictly on the Constitution:
“No undeclared wars, innocent until proven guilty, no searches without probable cause, everyone gets his or her day in court, small central government,” he said.
His campaign Web site touts personal choice on health care and a “more humble” foreign policy. Stevo also vows, on his Web site, that he never would vote to increase taxes, spending or national debt.
* Constitution Party candidate likely out of race in the 18th…
Carter did not fulfill the signature requirement for the office, so even if he does contest the objection, he likely will not win. He said earlier he had hoped to “fly under the radar” and get into the race.
“I can not withstand a challenge,” he said. He will be notified of the objection by certified mail this week and can still argue his case, but said that’s not likely.
He received “thousands” fewer signatures than the required number. “I’m still taking it under consideration, but the likelihood is I won’t,” Carter said.
* Rep. Phil Hare calls for levee upgrades in flooding’s wake….
U.S. Rep. Phil Hare assessed Mississippi River flood damage Monday in Gladstone and told constituents he is working to upgrade levees in the area.
“It’s incredibly sad. We’re having a 200-year flood every 10 or 12 years,” the Rock Island Democrat said. “After we get through this, we have to invest in the long term and build these levees up.”
[…]
“No one knows how much this will cost,” Hare said after watching the 20-minute presentation. “The supplemental appropriations bill the president signed is for $2.5 billion, but I’m guessing this could easily go as high as $4 billion. We are probably going to do another supplement appropriation for this flood.”
* Dr. Steve Sauerberg speaks at “election awareness candidate forum” sponsored by the La Salle County Republican Women…
Sauerberg’s concerns ranged from the open border and “taxes that support Springfield, who has never seen a big enough government. We have a government that just wants us to drive less without drilling for oil anywhere.
It’s hard to do anything if energy issues are not resolved. The Legislature has been dealing with this for 25 to 30 years and they have done nothing. We need to deal with our rising health costs. We need change and without all of our efforts, there will be no change.”
posted by Kevin Fanning
Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 2:34 pm
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Roskum’s pandering response on CN may expose him to other train problems in his district. The CN move doesn’t increase the number of trains in the suburbs, it just shifts traffic to a different North-South exurban track to avoid congestion closer in to Chicago. Roskum’s move ignores that the CN move could reduce the number of east-west trains across his district, which frequently must slow down or stop because of the congestion. The CN move could help eliminate much of this traffic-stopping rail congestion. I hope voters in his district who must wait for slow or stopped east west freight trains are aware that Roskum’s pandering to CN critics is contributing to the blocked east west RR intersections. Not a smart move by Roskum.
Comment by anon sequitor Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 2:57 pm
The problem with that argument is who wants to come out and support vehicular traffic at the expense of mass transit. Not a good platform right now to complain that we need fewer trains.
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 3:01 pm
Hate to be petty, by “Dr.” Steven Sauerberg? is that the way the he’s going to be referred to?
Comment by Dr. Skeeter Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 4:00 pm
Anon - The politicians are beating the EJ&E/CN drum to a unanimous beat, but the public comments I read are much more divided. Guess it’s easier to pander to the squeaky wheels than to have a thoughtful discussion on the region’s and the nation’s transportation infrastructure needs.
Ghost- Even at $4 gas there’s plenty of SUV drivers in the outer burbs who don’t want to wait an extra 2 minutes to make their tee time.
Dr. Skeeter - Maybe the “Dr.” Sauerberg moniker will work as well as “Dr.” Dean’s did. All he needs is a primal scream.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 4:10 pm
Roskam’s argument would have more validity if Metra was not merely in the infancy stages of developing and determining funding sources for the STAR line. The CN proposal is sensible, as it will serve to reduce both freight and commuter rail delays near the city. One could argue that CN’s offer of $40 million to mitigate the grade-crossing and quality of life issues needs to be increased substantially, but otherwise should be allowed to happen.
Comment by The Doc Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 4:24 pm
Doc-
I suspect a lot of the bluster is a negotiating ploy, anyway…these congresscritters know the STB is likely to rule in favor national commerce rather than NIMBYism, so if they can cut a better deal with the railroad, they can tell their constituents what a good job they did getting a few extra underpasses from the mean ole wailwoad.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 4:27 pm
Phil Hare……..uh…….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 4:53 pm
The other problem with “doctor” — I can’t say for sure that they all involve him, but there are a heck of a lot of malpractice cases filed in Cook County against someone with his last name.
Given what is expected to be a large senate majority for the Dems, we might all be better off if he went to the Senate. He could do less damage there.
Comment by Dr. Skeeter Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 5:00 pm
Most of the arguements about the CN purchase of the EJ&E railroad have to do with the increase suburban traffic. I live in the city on the south side and I am all for a DECREASE in traffic in my neighborhood. I sometimes get stuck by two sets of train tracks about a half mile apart. Sometimes it might take 20 minutes for what normally is a 2 minute trip. I might even buy some of their stock to help CN out and will definately lobby against Roskam’s bill.
Comment by Been There Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 5:43 pm
Is Kirk going to let Stevo stay on the ballot?
Comment by qwerty Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 5:47 pm
There’s no money to build the STAR Line now, and with the federal competition tight for New Starts funds, I think it is unlikely that this project will be selected. What then? No CN and no STAR line? And why are politicians interfering with interstate commerce? Why are they blocking the sale of private property from one entity to another? Where are all the free-traders and small-governmenters?
Comment by NoGiftsPlease Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 5:58 pm
Too bad Bean and Roscom are pandering on the Canadian Nation issue. A few years from now we will be suffering from some unintended consequences of this purchase being blocked and who will fix it then?
Its like the oil drilling. No new drilling oops its too late to drill…..
The folks in Washington don’t know a thing, but they pretend to….. dangerous
Comment by plutocrat03 Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 8:37 pm
yes roskam is pandering a bit, but as much as i hate to actually say it, he is not really in the wrong on this one…this is a goofy deal…on a different note, does anyone else think it is odd that sauerberg still seems to be trying to convince republicans to vote for him? at this point it would seem if you dont have them, you are pretty much cooked.
Comment by Downstate GOP Faithless Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 10:09 pm
Downstate,
It’s a transaction between 2 private companies…Democrats should like this because it promotes environmentally-friendly rail freight, and Republicans should like this because it’s good for the Chicago area’s and the nation’s commerce. Roskam is in the wrong if he’s a free-trader who seeks less, rather than more, regulation of private business. So what’s goofy?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 10:43 pm
Kevin quotes: “Sauerberg’s concerns ranged from the open border and “taxes that support Springfield, who has never seen a big enough government.”
Is Dr. Sauerberg running for State Senator or US Senator? He seems … confused.
Comment by Rob_N Tuesday, Jul 1, 08 @ 11:17 pm