99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB1865

 

Introduced 2/20/2015, by Sen. Dale A. Righter

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
625 ILCS 5/18c-7402  from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7402

    Creates the Rail Crossing Blocking Act. Requires the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Department of Transportation to annually study railroad crossings in municipalities of 15,000 or more to identify crossings which if blocked for longer than 30 minutes would pose significant public safety concerns by impeding emergency, fire, and police. The Commission shall use the study to designate Essential Rail Crossings. Provides a municipality may, by ordinance, provide that a person or entity may not physically block an Essential Rail Crossing in a manner which obstructs traffic for a period in excess of a total of 30 minutes, unless the blocking of the crossing is by reason of circumstances over which the person or entity has no reasonable control, is necessary for maintenance of the crossing, is an emergency, or is otherwise allowed or required under State or federal law, rule, or regulation. Provides any municipality adopting an ordinance under the Act on an Essential Rail Crossing may impose, by ordinance, a fine for violation of this Act. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to make conforming changes.


LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1865LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1    AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Rail
5Crossing Blocking Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
7context clearly requires otherwise, the following terms are
8defined as indicated:
9    "Essential Rail Crossing" means a railroad-highway grade
10crossing designated by the Illinois Commerce Commission under
11Section 10 of this Act.
12    "Physically block" means to obstruct the movement of all
13motor vehicle traffic from passing through a railroad-highway
14grade crossing, and includes blocking of a crossing by a
15malfunctioning railroad crossing signal and gate located on the
16railroad right-of-way.
17    "Rail carrier" means any person engaged in the
18transportation of property or passengers for hire by railroad,
19together with all employees or agents of this person or entity,
20and all property used, controlled, or owned by this person or
21entity.
 
22    Section 10. Illinois Commerce Commission rail crossing

 

 

SB1865- 2 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1designation.
2    The Illinois Commerce Commission and the Department of
3Transportation shall conduct a study annually of
4railroad-highway grade crossings located within municipalities
5with a population of 15,000 or more inhabitants, as determined
6by the most recent federal census, to identify those crossings
7which if blocked from normal motor vehicle traffic flow for a
8period of time in excess of 30 minutes would pose significant
9public safety concerns by impeding emergency, fire, and police
10use of the crossings. The Commission and Department may consult
11with an affected municipality for purposes of the study. The
12Commission shall use the study to annually designate any
13railroad-highway grade crossings in those municipalities as
14Essential Rail Crossings and shall publish its Essential Rail
15Crossing designations on its Internet website. The Commission
16shall notify each municipality of the location of any Essential
17Rail Crossing designations within the municipality.
 
18    Section 15. Obstruction of Essential Rail Crossing
19ordinance.
20    (a) A municipality, other than as provided in subsection
21(b), may by ordinance, provide that a person or entity may not
22physically block an Essential Rail Crossing within the
23municipality in a manner which obstructs motor vehicle traffic
24over the crossing for a period in excess of 30 minutes, unless
25the blocking of the crossing is by reason of circumstances over

 

 

SB1865- 3 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1which the person or entity has no reasonable control, is
2necessary for maintenance of the crossing, is an emergency, or
3is otherwise allowed or required under State or federal law,
4rule, or regulation. The ordinance may not apply to a rail
5carrier's train or railroad car which is continuously moving or
6cannot be moved by reason of circumstances over which the rail
7carrier has no reasonable control, is necessary for
8maintenance, is an emergency, or is otherwise allowed or
9required under State or federal law, rule, or regulation.
10    (b) A municipality within a county with a population of
11more than 1,000,000, as determined by the most recent federal
12census, may by ordinance provide that during the hours of 7:00
13a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m. a person
14or entity may not physically block an Essential Rail Crossing
15in a manner which obstructs motor vehicle traffic over the
16crossing for a period in excess of a total of 30 minutes,
17except when the blocking is by reason of circumstances over
18which the person or entity has no reasonable control, is
19necessary for maintenance of the crossing, is an emergency, or
20is otherwise allowed or required under State or federal law,
21rule, or regulation. The ordinance may not apply to a rail
22carrier's train or railroad car which is continuously moving or
23where the train or railroad car cannot be moved by reason or
24circumstances over which the rail carrier has no reasonable
25control, is necessary for maintenance, is an emergency, or is
26otherwise allowed or required by State or federal law, rule, or

 

 

SB1865- 4 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1regulation.
2    (c) The ordinance must also provide that under no
3circumstances shall a moving train be stopped for the purposes
4of issuing a citation related to this Section, and that no
5employee acting under the rules or orders of his or her
6employer or its supervisory personnel may be prosecuted for a
7violation of this Section.
 
8    Section 20. Penalty for obstruction of grade crossing.
9    Any municipality adopting an ordinance under Section 15 of
10this Act may impose, by ordinance, a fine for violating the
11applicable subsection (a) or (b) of Section 15 of this Act.
 
12    Section 100. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
13changing Section 18c-7402 as follows:
 
14    (625 ILCS 5/18c-7402)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7402)
15    Sec. 18c-7402. Safety Requirements for Railroad
16Operations.
17    (1) Obstruction of Crossings.
18        (a) Obstruction of Emergency Vehicles. Every railroad
19    shall be operated in such a manner as to minimize
20    obstruction of emergency vehicles at crossings. Where such
21    obstruction occurs and the train crew is aware of the
22    obstruction, the train crew shall immediately take any
23    action, consistent with safe operating procedure,

 

 

SB1865- 5 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1    necessary to remove the obstruction. In the Chicago and St.
2    Louis switching districts, every railroad dispatcher or
3    other person responsible for the movement of railroad
4    equipment in a specific area who receives notification that
5    railroad equipment is obstructing the movement of an
6    emergency vehicle at any crossing within such area shall
7    immediately notify the train crew through use of existing
8    communication facilities. Upon notification, the train
9    crew shall take immediate action in accordance with this
10    paragraph.
11        (b) (Blank). Obstruction of Highway at Grade Crossing
12    Prohibited. It is unlawful for a rail carrier to permit any
13    train, railroad car or engine to obstruct public travel at
14    a railroad-highway grade crossing for a period in excess of
15    10 minutes, except where such train or railroad car is
16    continuously moving or cannot be moved by reason of
17    circumstances over which the rail carrier has no reasonable
18    control.
19    In a county with a population of greater than 1,000,000, as
20determined by the most recent federal census, during the hours
21of 7:00 a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m.
22it is unlawful for a rail carrier to permit any single train or
23railroad car to obstruct public travel at a railroad-highway
24grade crossing in excess of a total of 10 minutes during a 30
25minute period, except where the train or railroad car cannot be
26moved by reason or circumstances over which the rail carrier

 

 

SB1865- 6 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1has no reasonable control. Under no circumstances will a moving
2train be stopped for the purposes of issuing a citation related
3to this Section.
4    However, no employee acting under the rules or orders of
5the rail carrier or its supervisory personnel may be prosecuted
6for a violation of this subsection (b).
7        (c) (Blank). Punishment for Obstruction of Grade
8    Crossing. Any rail carrier violating paragraph (b) of this
9    subsection shall be guilty of a petty offense and fined not
10    less than $200 nor more than $500 if the duration of the
11    obstruction is in excess of 10 minutes but no longer than
12    15 minutes. If the duration of the obstruction exceeds 15
13    minutes the violation shall be a business offense and the
14    following fines shall be imposed: if the duration of the
15    obstruction is in excess of 15 minutes but no longer than
16    20 minutes, the fine shall be $500; if the duration of the
17    obstruction is in excess of 20 minutes but no longer than
18    25 minutes, the fine shall be $700; if the duration of the
19    obstruction is in excess of 25 minutes, but no longer than
20    30 minutes, the fine shall be $900; if the duration of the
21    obstruction is in excess of 30 minutes but no longer than
22    35 minutes, the fine shall be $1,000; if the duration of
23    the obstruction is in excess of 35 minutes, the fine shall
24    be $1,000 plus an additional $500 for each 5 minutes of
25    obstruction in excess of 25 minutes of obstruction.
26    (2) Other Operational Requirements.

 

 

SB1865- 7 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1        (a) Bell and Whistle-Crossings. Every rail carrier
2    shall cause a bell, and a whistle or horn to be placed and
3    kept on each locomotive, and shall cause the same to be
4    rung or sounded by the engineer or fireman, at the distance
5    of a least 1,320 feet, from the place where the railroad
6    crosses or intersects any public highway, and shall be kept
7    ringing or sounding until the highway is reached; provided
8    that at crossings where the Commission shall by order
9    direct, only after a hearing has been held to determine the
10    public is reasonably and sufficiently protected, the rail
11    carrier may be excused from giving warning provided by this
12    paragraph.
13        (a-5) The requirements of paragraph (a) of this
14    subsection (2) regarding ringing a bell and sounding a
15    whistle or horn do not apply at a railroad crossing that
16    has a permanently installed automated audible warning
17    device authorized by the Commission under Section
18    18c-7402.1 that sounds automatically when an approaching
19    train is at least 1,320 feet from the crossing and that
20    keeps sounding until the lead locomotive has crossed the
21    highway. The engineer or fireman may ring the bell or sound
22    the whistle or horn at a railroad crossing that has a
23    permanently installed audible warning device.
24        (b) Speed Limits. Each rail carrier shall operate its
25    trains in compliance with speed limits set by the
26    Commission. The Commission may set train speed limits only

 

 

SB1865- 8 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1    where such limits are necessitated by extraordinary
2    circumstances effecting the public safety, and shall
3    maintain such train speed limits in effect only for such
4    time as the extraordinary circumstances prevail.
5        The Commission and the Department of Transportation
6    shall conduct a study of the relation between train speeds
7    and railroad-highway grade crossing safety. The Commission
8    shall report the findings of the study to the General
9    Assembly no later than January 5, 1997.
10        (c) Special Speed Limit; Pilot Project. The Commission
11    and the Board of the Commuter Rail Division of the Regional
12    Transportation Authority shall conduct a pilot project in
13    the Village of Fox River Grove, the site of the fatal
14    school bus accident at a railroad crossing on October 25,
15    1995, in order to improve railroad crossing safety. For
16    this project, the Commission is directed to set the maximum
17    train speed limit for Regional Transportation Authority
18    trains at 50 miles per hour at intersections on that
19    portion of the intrastate rail line located in the Village
20    of Fox River Grove. If the Regional Transportation
21    Authority deliberately fails to comply with this maximum
22    speed limit, then any entity, governmental or otherwise,
23    that provides capital or operational funds to the Regional
24    Transportation Authority shall appropriately reduce or
25    eliminate that funding. The Commission shall report to the
26    Governor and the General Assembly on the results of this

 

 

SB1865- 9 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1    pilot project in January 1999, January 2000, and January
2    2001. The Commission shall also submit a final report on
3    the pilot project to the Governor and the General Assembly
4    in January 2001. The provisions of this subsection (c),
5    other than this sentence, are inoperative after February 1,
6    2001.
7    (3) Report and Investigation of Rail Accidents.
8        (a) Reports. Every rail carrier shall report to the
9    Commission, by the speediest means possible, whether
10    telephone, telegraph, or otherwise, every accident
11    involving its equipment, track, or other property which
12    resulted in loss of life to any person. In addition, such
13    carriers shall file a written report with the Commission.
14    Reports submitted under this paragraph shall be strictly
15    confidential, shall be specifically prohibited from
16    disclosure, and shall not be admissible in any
17    administrative or judicial proceeding relating to the
18    accidents reported.
19        (b) Investigations. The Commission may investigate all
20    railroad accidents reported to it or of which it acquires
21    knowledge independent of reports made by rail carriers, and
22    shall have the power, consistent with standards and
23    procedures established under the Federal Railroad Safety
24    Act, as amended, to enter such temporary orders as will
25    minimize the risk of future accidents pending notice,
26    hearing, and final action by the Commission.

 

 

SB1865- 10 -LRB099 07215 RJF 27311 b

1(Source: P.A. 91-675, eff. 6-1-00; 92-284, eff. 8-9-01.)