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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Many communities throughout the Chicago area have | ||||||
| 3 | already begun experiencing public safety issues and serious | ||||||
| 4 | traffic congestion due to the acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet | ||||||
| 5 | and Eastern (EJ&E) railroad by Canadian National Railway; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, In Aurora, Barrington, Barrington Hills, | ||||||
| 7 | Barrington Township, Bartlett, Deer Park, DuPage County, | ||||||
| 8 | Hawthorn Woods, Lake Zurich, Naperville, New Lenox, | ||||||
| 9 | Plainfield, and Wayne and Will Counties, along with other | ||||||
| 10 | communities along the EJ&E line, Canadian National freight | ||||||
| 11 | trains have been blocking critical roadways and creating a | ||||||
| 12 | dangerous public safety situation for police, fire, and | ||||||
| 13 | emergency vehicles; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Communities that have agreed to accept negotiated | ||||||
| 15 | settlements from Canadian National are barred from publicly | ||||||
| 16 | expressing public safety issues and other concerns surrounding | ||||||
| 17 | Canadian National Railway's operations on the EJ&E as part of | ||||||
| 18 | the terms of the agreements; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) | ||||||
| 20 | has the regulatory authority over railroad acquisitions and | ||||||
| 21 | mergers and can assist these communities with this urgent | ||||||
| 22 | problem; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The Surface Transportation Board's three-member | ||||||
| 2 | governing body has a vacancy due to the departure of board | ||||||
| 3 | member W. Douglas Buttrey in March of 2009; therefore, be it
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| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 5 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge President Obama | ||||||
| 6 | to appoint a new Surface Transportation Board member quickly; | ||||||
| 7 | and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That we state our belief that this STB member | ||||||
| 9 | should be someone who will take into consideration significant | ||||||
| 10 | community impacts related to public safety, noise, vibration, | ||||||
| 11 | traffic congestion, and other environmental concerns when | ||||||
| 12 | evaluating railroad acquisitions and mergers; and be it further | ||||||
| 13 | RESOLVED, That we further urge President Obama to choose | ||||||
| 14 | someone for the STB seat who has extensive knowledge of | ||||||
| 15 | transportation, freight, and shipping issues, as well as | ||||||
| 16 | someone who can objectively weigh the benefits of railroad | ||||||
| 17 | expansion against the infrastructure costs necessary to | ||||||
| 18 | mitigate significant community impacts; and be it further | ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, That we also urge President Obama to choose a | ||||||
| 20 | Board nominee who will consider population growth and economic | ||||||
| 21 | impact when evaluating railway acquisitions, mergers, and | ||||||
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| 1 | other Surface Transportation Board regulatory issues; and be it | ||||||
| 2 | further | ||||||
| 3 | RESOLVED, That we inform President Obama that the State of | ||||||
| 4 | Illinois, including the Department of Transportation, will | ||||||
| 5 | show preference in the programming of railroad funds and | ||||||
| 6 | rail-to-road grade separation project funds to projects where | ||||||
| 7 | the federal Surface Transportation Board has ordered a private | ||||||
| 8 | entity to partially fund improvements necessary to mitigate | ||||||
| 9 | impacts at significantly affected grade crossings; and be it | ||||||
| 10 | further | ||||||
| 11 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be sent | ||||||
| 12 | to President Obama, the Chicago-area members of the United | ||||||
| 13 | States House of Representatives, the Illinois delegation of the | ||||||
| 14 | United States Senate, and the members of the Surface | ||||||
| 15 | Transportation Board.
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