Public meetings set on CN deal
With a decision on the proposed Canadian National purchase of the EJ&E railroad looming, area communities and residents will have one last chance to voice their opinions in person.
The Surface Transportation Board, a three-member presidentially appointed board that has final say on the deal, is hosting a series of public meetings throughout the region to give residents a final chance to weigh in.
The meetings, which include an open house as well as the opportunity to submit formal comments, are being held in Matteson, Mundelein, Barrington, Bartlett, Chicago, Aurora and Joliet.
Both proponents and opponents of the deal are urging residents to make sure their opinion gets heard.
Barrington Village President Karen Darch, a co-chairman of the merger opposition group The Regional Answer to Canadian National, said she is expecting a large turnout at Barrington High School on Wednesday after more than 1,400 people showed up to a similar forum last winter.
"Our community stepped up in January," Darch said. "An even bigger turnout would be great."
To show their opposition, residents in the Fox Point neighborhood have organized a march for Wednesday that will go down Main Street to the meeting at Barrington High School.
Those in Barrington and other communities opposing the deal are concerned the additional trains CN plans to run through their communities would cause numerous safety and environmental issues.
Jack Wiaduck, the mayor of Riverside and co-chair of Solutions To Area Rail Traffic, a group supporting the deal, is urging residents who think the deal makes sense to make sure the STB knows where they stand.
"We want to speak with a unified voice," he said.
Those supporting the deal say it will ease freight congestion in the region and improve the quality of life in more than 60 communities.
CN has proposed a $300 million purchase of the EJ&E, which runs in an arc around Chicago from Waukegan to Gary, Ind. The CN plans to use the EJ&E as a bypass for freight traffic around Chicago.
Each meeting will start at 4 p.m. with a two-hour open house. Representatives from the STB will be available to answer questions and help the public review project maps and other findings of the recently released draft environmental impact study.
Between 6 and 9 p.m., a public meeting is scheduled where STB officials make a short presentation on the proposed deal and will then take formal comments on the impact study.
Residents who would like to speak are asked to register in advance at (800) 347-0689. Speakers will have three minutes each.
Those not wanting to speak at the meetings cam still submit written comments either by mail or e-mail. Letters should be postmarked by Sept. 30 and sent to Phillis Johnson-Ball at the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20423; Ref: STB Finance Docket No. 35087. E-mails can be sent by visiting www.stb.dot.gov and clicking on the E-FILING link.
The STB is using the comments collected to help determine the overall impact of the deal. The final impact study is expected to be released sometime between Dec. 31 and Jan. 31. A final decision on the deal will follow that.
The Surface Transportation Board is hosting eight meetings in the next three weeks over the CN's proposed purchase of the EJ&E. Each meeting has an open house from 4-6 p.m., with formal comments collected 6-9 p.m.
• Monday: Holiday Inn and Conference Center in Matteson.
• Tuesday: Crown Plaza Chicago North Shore in Mundelein.
• Wednesday: Barrington High School in Barrington.
• Thursday: Bartlett High School in Bartlett.
• Sept. 8: Loyola University in Chicago.
• Sept. 9: West Aurora High School in Aurora.
• Sept. 10: Indiana University Northwest in Gary.
• Sept. 11: Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Joliet.