Court: Mundelein can't fine railroad for letting train block streets

SPRINGFIELD -- Train delays may be a common headache among suburban motorists, but local communities' efforts to diminish them may have been derailed Friday.

In both a Mundelein and a downstate case, the Illinois Supreme Court invalidated local and state laws that fine trains blocking highways for lengthy periods of time.

"We're obviously disappointed in the Supreme Court that our ordinance and the state law was preempted by the federal regulations," said Larry LaLuzerne, an attorney for the village of Mundelein. "We're going to have to go back and figure out what we want to do next. It may take some legislative change down in Springfield or maybe something federally."

The Illinois justices ruled a federal railroad safety law preempted Mundelein's rail crossing ordinance modeled after a state train crossing law.

The now-defunct Mundelein law prohibited trains from blocking public travel on a highway crossing for more than 10 minutes, "except when a train or railroad car is continuously moving or cannot be moved due to circumstances beyond the rail carrier's reasonable control."

As a result of Friday's ruling, Wisconsin Central Railroad doe not have to pay $14,000 in fines handed down after one of its trains blocked Hawley Street for more than 2½ hours in 2005.

LaLuzerne said the village had been enforcing the law for years, but this is the first case out of hundreds that hadn't gone its way. The court's decision appears to negate any similar laws anywhere in the state.

Wisconsin Central spokesman Jim Kvedaras said the company is grateful to have won the appeal.

"The court's decisions do not change our commitment to move goods safely and efficiently for our customers while minimizing the impact on our host communities," Kvedaras said.

According to court records, during a long stop in Lake Villa before traveling south to Mundelein, a railroad crew repaired air leaks and gasket problems on the train. Then, a new crew took over, inspected the air brake system and found it to be within federal safety requirements.

During the journey south, a sudden loss of air pressure near Mundelein triggered the emergency brakes, stopping the 119-car train. The conductor found a misaligned air valve, possibly set off by debris or train vibration.

A repair crew was unable to adequately restore the brake system's air pressure on the damaged rear cars. They were separated from the rest of the train and left blocking the Hawley Street crossing until another train could remove them.

In the meantime, two Metra commuter trains arrived at the village and departing passengers were unable to get to their vehicles because of the stalled train. Train crews separated train cars each time to let passengers through.

A Lake County Circuit Court judge ruled Wisconsin Central could have done a better job inspecting the system and preventing the delay.