6th Congressional rivals differ on transportation

First in a series of stories on the issues facing incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam and Democrat Jill Morgenthaler in the 6th Congressional District Nov. 4 election.

Transportation is a major quality of life issue in the 6th Congressional District, with O'Hare International Airport at its eastern edge, Metra and freight trains crossing its downtowns and several major expressways intersecting it.

Candidates Jill Morgenthaler, a Des Plaines Democrat, and incumbent U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Wheaton Republican, agree on one major transportation controversy affecting local residents: a railway merger. But they differ on the future of O'Hare.

The city of Chicago is embarked on an ambitious plan to modernize O'Hare by creating a system of parallel runways running east-west. But improving O'Hare to add extra runways means acquiring nearby homes and commercial properties, including about 600 sites in Bensenville.

Roskam opposes airport expansion.

"Bensenville will be fundamentally changed," said Roskam, an attorney and longtime state senator. He also is concerned the project will jeopardize businesses in Elk Grove Village.

Morgenthaler, former Illinois Homeland Security adviser and retired Army Reserve colonel, supports the modernization effort and a plan to create a western access to O'Hare.

"Western access will be an opportunity for businesses to expand on that side," she said.

While O'Hare expansion has been a constant controversy in the district, the issue has been put in the shadows this year by the Canadian National Railway's plan to buy the smaller EJ&E railroad. CN wants to move freight trains from its lines in Chicago and nearby suburbs, such as Des Plaines, onto the EJ&E, saying it will relieve a bottleneck in the city.

The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway runs in a semicircle from Waukegan to Gary, Ind., through Cook, Lake, Will and DuPage counties. Communities along the "J" tracks are up in arms over the prospect of more freights creating traffic, causing noise and delaying emergency vehicles.

Roskam has opposed the merger, which requires approval from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. He backs legislation seeking to require the STB to take community concerns into account when they decide on transaction.

Despite the bill's failure to get a majority in the House in September, "the momentum is going in the right direction," Roskam said.

Morgenthaler also fears the merger will hurt towns near the EJ&E tracks.

"It could prevent emergency responders from getting across the tracks," she said.

Morgenthaler called a $60 million pledge from CN for safety improvements at railway crossings inadequate. "It hardly touches the problem," she said.

Another thorny issue is the pending bankruptcy of the highway trust fund. With drivers using less gas, the current fuel tax is falling short.

Morgenthaler said it's important for the country to end the war in Iraq so more money can be invested in infrastructure.

Roskam suggested repealing Illinois' gas sales tax, but keeping the price per gallon the same and using the funds for roads.

The 6th District includes portions of northeast DuPage and northwest Cook counties.