Kane Co. resident fighting sinkhole, debris pile

Tracy Teter never minded living at the confluence of the Fox River, railroad tracks and a giant cell tower until she literally started gaining ground around her about three months ago.

As she stood in her backyard last week, gravel continued to tumble down the slope at the edge of her property that leads to the tracks where freight trains will zoom by up to six times a day. For the past eight years she's lived there, the rattle of the train has only been a minor nuisance worthy of a pillow over her ears in the early morning hours.

These days she and her family, which includes five children, are more likely to put on helmets instead. The gravel is meandering onto her property via a sinkhole of sorts that appears to be inching its way farther beneath and closer to the train tracks.

"I don't want a train rolling through my house," said Teter, who lives in unincorporated South Elgin. "I just want it fixed."

But it's not just a train she's worried about. Following the railroad gravel down the sinkhole, toward her home, is a mysterious pile of twisted steel bands, crunched old cars and discarded air conditioners that somehow ended up on the easement for the railroad tracks. Teter has contacted the owner of the industrial property next to her, but the owner expressed no knowledge of how the menacing pile of debris got there. And so it remains in place, except for the forces of erosion and gravity pulling down onto Teter's property.

It's all left Teter with one question. "Who is responsible for this?" Teter asks, her brow distressed with frustration. "The rocks are just going to keep coming down and this pile is just going to keep getting bigger until what happens?"

Kane County Health Department officials said they've been out to inspect the debris pile at least three different times. They've deemed the debris not to be an immediate threat, but do believe it should be removed.

Field reports from health department staff indicate they've observed the pile getting smaller since their initial visit, contrary to Teter's daily experience. But, just as mysterious as the debris itself, the health department records do not indicate who is responsible for removing the debris, nor the party that's been removing it if, indeed, the rotting mass is shrinking.

But there may be some hope with at least the sinkhole portion of the dilemma on the horizon. Kane County Division of Transportation Deputy Director Manny Gomez came out to see the situation for himself as Teter's home is not very far from the division's massive Stearns Road Bridge project. Upon inspection, Gomez deemed the sinkhole too far away from the Stearns Road work for it to be a contributing factor.

"We didn't really do a full investigation there," Gomez said. "But to me, it appears there may be a collapsed pile there that is causing the erosion problem. But that's just from a superficial observation."

But even with that potential diagnosis, Gomez said there was little KDOT could do to help her.

"We don't have jurisdiction there," he said. "It appears to be a railroad problem. I wish I could do more for her, but I did what I think was right."

What Gomez did was have his staff send a letter describing the problem to the Canadian National Railway, which recently became the owner of the old Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad tracks that run past Teter's home and across the Fox River. Teter has yet to see any positive change resulting from that.

Canadian National spokesman Patrick Waldron said last week his company is aware of the situation and is investigating, but there are details about the causes of the sinkhole and its possible fixes not yet available.