Local districts balk at Canadian National purchase

Officials from two local school districts plan to speak out this week against the proposed purchase of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Co. by Canadian National.

Barrington Community Unit District 220 Superintendent Tom Leonard said he plans to voice concerns about the deal at a meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Barrington High School gymnasium.

Elgin Area School District U-46 board President Ken Kaczynski and Superintendent Jose Torres also are preparing statements for a 6 p.m. Thursday hearing at Bartlett High School's auditorium, district spokesman Tony Sanders said.

CN wants to buy EJ&E for $300 million and use the line, which runs in an arc around the Chicago region, to reroute some freight traffic from lines in Chicago and inner suburbs.

District 220 and U-46 officials both oppose the deal, saying more freight trains would interrupt school bus routes.

Leonard called the effects on his district "horrendous."

An increase in the number of trains, at crossings at Route 59, Lake-Cook Road and Northwest Highway - the district's main thoroughfares - would create significant traffic and safety risks for students and staff members, Leonard said.

"Barrington High School is less than a quarter mile away from EJ&E tracks," he said.

"Any student who is walking across those tracks every day ... we're not only worrying about them getting hit, but standing out there in the cold for extended periods of time."

With a service area of 72 square miles, District 220 officials have estimated that school buses cross EJ&E tracks about 800 times a day.

"Pretty much anywhere our buses go they're crossing the tracks," he said.

In February, District 220 board members approved a resolution requesting the purchase not be approved unless Canadian National is forced to provide "acceptable mitigation," including a complete plan with full funding for any infrastructure improvements.

That resolution was reaffirmed at Tuesday's board meeting.

On Monday, U-46 board members were provided with some preliminary information about how the purchase would affect the 41,000-student district, which buses students across 90 square miles.

The additional freight traffic - which a July 25 environmental impact statement estimated an increase in the number of freight trains in Bartlett from 5 to 25 per day - "would have an impact on our ability to get our buses to and from school," Sanders said.

U-46 buses cross train tracks on West Bartlett Road about 55 times each school day, Sanders said.

At tracks on Army Trail and Smith Roads, crossings are estimated at 15 each.

According to district data, about one-fifth, or 7,500 of U-46's 41,000 students, attend school in Bartlett.

The Barrington and Bartlett hearings are two of eight public meetings in the Chicago area between Aug. 25 and Sept. 11. Organized by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, they are the final opportunity for taxpayers to make public comment on the environmental impact statement and the proposed purchase. Before each 6 p.m. hearing is a 4 p.m. open house. For a full schedule, visit www.stbfinancedocket35087.com.