Metra afternoon delays derail voting for some in suburbs
An afternoon rush Metra service shutdown caused by a pedestrian fatality hindered BNSF Line riders trying to vote before polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The delays were so significant Metra officials informed election officials in DuPage, Kane and Will counties of the problem and asked about keeping polling places open later.
The request was denied, however, because of strict laws governing voting hours, DuPage Election Commission Executive Director Robert Saar said.
A Metra train collided with a 78-year-old Chicago man walking on the tracks at about 3:30 p.m. near the Cicero station. A police investigation suspended service until about 5:30 p.m., when trains were allowed to travel at reduced speeds.
Eight rush-hour trains were canceled, commuters packed Union Station and delays reached up to one hour. The BSNF includes stations in Lisle, Naperville and Aurora.
The BNSF is Metra's busiest line. It "typically carries about 25,000 riders during the evening rush and on the high end that would be the number of riders potentially affected," spokeswoman Meg Reile said.
Given that the meltdown resulted "from a tragic accident ... we were not unsympathetic," Saar said, "but looking at state and federal law, the election commission had no grounds to keep polling places open."
Voting hours can be extended if polling stations open late, Saar noted. But changing the rules for situations such as the Metra delays would break federal and state laws and leave election officials open to complaints of political favoritism, he added.
While it's likely some commuters couldn't make it to their polling stations in time to vote because of the service delays, "there's no way of quantifying it," Saar said.
The train engineer on the line involved in the crash told police he observed a man walking near the railroad who crossed onto the tracks at Pulaski Road. The engineer sounded the horn and activated the brakes, Reile said.