Rail safety being overlooked

IDOT is conducting a Rail Needs Assessment throughout Illinois. This study comes at the heels of a recent merger proposal between KCS and CN. The 20,000-mile network through Canada, Mexico and U.S. will increase rail traffic through our communities and put schools, parks and other public locations at greater risk.

I adamantly oppose transporting hazardous materials through our neighborhoods. The rail industry hasn't proven to be a good neighbor - Lac-Mégantic, a case in point. Eight years since losing 47 loved ones, including young children and citizens traumatized by this catastrophic event must continue doing their own rail safety checks - daily. Residents were promised the corridor would relocate to circumvent their village; this hasn't been done to date, nor has the now-leveled city center been rebuilt.

The rail industry isn't required to carry adequate insurance covering damages from spills, releases and explosions, and a laundry list of needed improvements remain disregarded. In recent rule-making, the industry actually devalued human life, prioritizing their profits over our safety, and Congress simply leaves greedy corporate executives to regulate themselves.

About 20 trains nearly a mile long roll through my community each day, often parking long periods of time on a parallel holding track. My entire home vibrates as they pass, which broke a pane of glass at my neighbor's home. I paid thousands to repair a window well after pulling away from its foundation when CN dug to lay the second track. My community depends on well water, which is now compromised.

Nationwide, approximately 5.7 million children attend schools within the Oil Train Blast Zone. With 77,000 kids at schools in this zone, Chicago is one of the top five cities jeopardizing student safety. Perhaps the industry hasn't learned any lessons from Quebec's tragedy, but the public has.

We remember the lives lost in Lac-Mégantic.

Gerri Songer

Hawthorn Woods