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CN Railway refuses to appear at congressional public hearing

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Illinois

[Posted by Kevin Fanning]

* The battle rages on between suburban members of Congress and Canadian National Railway.

In a letter to U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, CN President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison declined the invitation to appear at the public hearing in Chicago because he said the lawmakers are unwilling to consider the deal’s benefits.

Harrison said CN has met with Bean and her staff multiple times to explain its stance, and that they don’t want to attend the hearing because Bean refuses to recognize the benefits that CN will bring to her constituents.

Bean has been an ardent critic of the acquisition, and yesterday the Barrington Congresswoman, along with Reps. Judy Biggert of Hinsdale, Bill Foster of Geneva, Don Manzullo of Ogle County and Peter Roskam of Wheaton proposed legislation to try to block the bill by giving more consideration to the impacts of railroad transactions on local communities:

“The current process puts the interests of industry over those of American families and taxpayers,” Bean said in a prepared statement. “This legislation provides balance and better reflects American values by protecting the rights of our constituents and communities.”

The bill would require the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to reject an acquisition if its adverse effects on safety outweigh its benefits.

* Senator Durbin also got into the mix…

Senator Dick Durbin led a group of lawmakers who met Thursday with U.S. Surface Transportation Board vice chairman Frank Mulvey. The lawmakers said they wanted to reiterate their concern that the agency has not adequately considered problems the sale would cause.

* However Joliet has taken a different approach:

The Joliet City Council land-use committee voted this week for an agreement that would spell out Canadian National’s obligations to help ease the impact on Joliet. The full council still must vote on the agreement, and that could happen in mid-August or September.

[…]

“We (Joliet) are one of a few that have been meeting with Canadian National,” Thanas said. “From our perspective, we don’t see a need to wait any longer.”

* Expect the Illinois delegation to keep fighting this one tooth and nail though. Many of their constituents are up in arms over the deal.

posted by Kevin Fanning
Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 11:48 am

Comments

Again I reiterate my belief that the Illinois Congresscritters are doing nothing more than greasing the squeakiest wheel among their constituency (I guess that’s an improvement over meeting the ‘needs’ of their biggest contributors, but I digress)–that same constituency that complains about the high cost of fuel and consumer goods in which the higher cost of transportation has a large effect–all the while protesting a merger that may ease rail congestion in Chicago and ease transportation costs for those same goods.
It is true however that there are major effects that will be caused by this. There is no doubt about that, but just like high fuel costs, we are all going to have to bear some of the pain to starighten things up. “We want it solved, but put the solution in soembody else’s town” doesn’t cut it.
I live in one of the towns that would be most effected by the proposed sale. I think that it would be wise for them to take Joliet’s lead and see if a compromise can be worked out.

train111

Comment by train111 Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 12:40 pm
I am all for this deal. Boo hoo on those constituents. We in Berwyn, Riverside, North Riverside, Brookfield, etc. have dealth with it for long enough. It’s time for some of these other cities to bear the brunt.

And quite frankly, I’m starting to get a little upset with my congressman Dan Lipinski for not being more vocal on this issue.

Comment by Lurker Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 12:45 pm
Kudos to Joliet.

I’ll tell you what, if the congresscritters get CN to bend and make big $ concessions in order for the sale to go through, the communities who have put up with REAL train traffic (like 100+ trains a day) for decades, and who are still hoping for overpasses, etc. in their neighborhoods, ought to be fighting mad that these same critters haven’t done much for them.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 12:46 pm
I’m with Lurker and Six Degrees. On the southwest side of the city and suburbs we have been waiting at the gate for too many years. There will be five times as many affected positively than those negatively if this deal goes through. The little lip has been quiet on this matter which is very uncharacteristic of him for a transportation issue.

Comment by Been There Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 1:00 pm
I would not show up for a campaign event which will in effect be a public spanking either.

Another example of pandering to the noisiest class with no knowledge as to what the effects on transportation will be.

Dumb dumb, dumb…….

Comment by plutocrat03 Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 1:18 pm
I e-mail the Little Lip on this issue weeks ago and even checked the box to request a reply. Never heard a word.

I just put a call in to his office and got the usual, “He’s researching the issue,” I was like that’s great that he’s *reading* but we need him to actually SHOW UP AND DO SOMETIHNG, LIKE BEAN AND DURBIN.

Comment by Lurker Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 1:18 pm
The STB report projects a net regional reduction in train accidents if the deal goes through. There are fewer grade crossings along the EJ&E than along the existing CN routes.

Comment by Reformer Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 2:20 pm
Working class neighborhoods have been putting up with this for years. It has kept a lid on their property values. Now a solution that helps re-distribute the burden among all area residents (all of whom benefit from cheaper goods due to train traffic) comes along, and the affluent are screaming bloody murder. Disgusting!

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 2:28 pm
That project should be approved soon, so that those tracks could be used for freight and for the proposed Metra line that would include at least 15 stops, including O’Hare, Schaumburg, Aurora, and Joliet. Those trains would help many people who want to take trains to work, instead of buying gas.

Comment by PhilCollins Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 2:43 pm
U.S. Reps. Mark Kirk of Highland Park and Jan Schakowsky of Evanston have endorsed the sale. Why not you, Danny?

Comment by Lurker Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 2:46 pm
I wish the NIMBY crowd would just go home. This is at least a partial solution to a regional/national issue (freight train traffic bottleneck) so just put up with it!

Comment by Vote Quimby! Friday, Aug 1, 08 @ 3:38 pm