CN not operating in good faith
In a recent edition of the Daily Herald I read an article about the proposed takeover of the EJ&E railroad by the Canadian National Railroad. Three things in the article stood out. Number one was that the takeover will happen and that the Surface Transportation Board's job has historically been to rubber stamp mergers.
The second point was that we should negotiate with the CN for the best possible deal. An acquisition of a local railroad by an American railroad in Cleveland was cited as a model good-faith negotiations yielding $100 million in helpful mitigation.
A third item was on a list of positives and negatives relating to the merger. It listed on the negative side of the ledger the loss of the Star Line.
The STB must look at economic and environmental impacts. That one item - Star Line - is big enough to kill the deal. Population growth puts a strain on public transportation. Today, with $4-a-gallon-plus gas prices, we find a growing demand for public transportation. The long-proposed but not-funded Star Line would start at the southern most end of the EJ&E, go to Hoffman Estates and then swing east to O'Hare and Rosemont. Forty towns and villages would be linked with each other, have airport access and a direct connection to Chicago. I believe the time is right for the birth of the Star Line. Look at our East Coast where networks of commuter lines connect surrounding communities to larger cities. The "T" in and around Boston is a great example.
This is a unique situation for the STB. Their decision would insure the loss of commuter service to these areas for all time.
Congressman Peter Roskam has or will introduce a bill in Congress to preserve that commuter right-of-way. Should the STB board of three members pre-empt Congress' right to decide? There is no rush. The STB should wait.
Further, the article mentioned that trains have been using the eastern route for 100 years. In that time necessity has caused the involved communities to cope by providing separated rail crossings and other solutions. Using EJ&E tracks will not only bar the Star Line but will put 20 or more additional trains through communities that do not have adequate infrastructure to handle them. There are NO promises that the number of trains won't continue to increase and that original heavy train traffic won't return to the direct Chicago route.
In my opinion the hope for the good faith negotiations requested by the STB will be unfulfilled. At a meeting June 10 of the Northern Illinois Board of Industrial Realtors that I attended, Jim Kverdas, head CN PR guy, put on the dog and pony show. When specifically asked a question he said that CN hired a team to study the past findings of the STB. After seeing what the STB required, they picked $40 million as a high side maximum to offer as impact mitigation. There has been no thought of negotiating what would actually be required. That doesn't sound like good faith negotiations to me.
The CN was to meet with all the villages and negotiate. I was at a meeting with them in May or early June at Lake Zurich. Many areas of the merger were not up for discussion by the CN. When Terry Mastendrea, our fire chief and area emergency disaster coordinator, asked for a telecommunications hook up so that emergency services can take alternate routes in case of a long train or train trouble, CN said we'll get right back to you. The same answer was given for advance knowledge of hazardous materials being shipped. To this day no answers have been forthcoming. The CN scheduled a follow up meeting with us. They cancelled, rescheduled and then rescheduled twice more. To this date there has been no follow up meeting. Reports from other communities have indicated that offers of some of the $40 million have been made on the conditions that their village support the merger and not reveal the deal. So much for the good faith hoped for in the article.
The Canadian National Railroad is a foreign national company that has been an arrogant bully. I offer as proof an anecdote from Mundelein officials and State Representative Sullivan. Mundelein had an ordinance that generated a fine if a train blocked a crossing for more than 20 minutes - a common CN occurrence. CN took them to court and eventually won. The day after the court findings, CN parked a train across three intersections for an hour. After the engineer had his break they went on their merry way.
This is not a "not-in-my-back yard" issue. It is an economic issue, an environmental issue, a safety issue and an integrity issue. I encourage people to get involved, write letters and send Emails to the STB, and go to the local STB hearings when they are announced. Be informed. For a wealth of information check the Lake Zurich Web site. It will give you names, addresses and links to other Web sites.
Jim Johnson
Lake Zurich Village Trustee