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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, There are numerous, negative impacts on a | ||||||
3 | municipality when a railroad train blocks one or more railroad | ||||||
4 | crossings for a significant length of time; and
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5 | WHEREAS, An impact may be severe if emergency responders | ||||||
6 | are forced to wait at a crossing or take a longer alternative | ||||||
7 | route because of the blocked crossing; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Municipalities have the duty to protect and | ||||||
9 | enhance the health, safety, and welfare of their residents; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Blocked railroad crossings are a direct threat to | ||||||
11 | the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of a | ||||||
12 | municipality; and
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13 | WHEREAS, The federal government has failed to take action | ||||||
14 | on the issue of trains blocking municipal railroad crossings; | ||||||
15 | and
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16 | WHEREAS, Section 18c-7402(1)(b) of the Illinois Vehicle | ||||||
17 | Code makes it a violation for a train to obstruct a | ||||||
18 | railroad-highway grade crossing for a period in excess of 10 | ||||||
19 | minutes unless the train is continuously moving or cannot be | ||||||
20 | moved by reason of circumstances over which the railroad has no |
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1 | reasonable control; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Multiple municipalities throughout Illinois, | ||||||
3 | including the Village of Mundelein, have adopted ordinances | ||||||
4 | modeled after the State statute because of the negative impact | ||||||
5 | of trains blocking railroad crossings for extensive lengths of | ||||||
6 | time in those municipalities; and
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7 | WHEREAS, The Village of Mundelein, pursuant to its | ||||||
8 | ordinance, cited a railroad for blocking a railroad-highway | ||||||
9 | crossing for 157 minutes and the trial court found the railroad | ||||||
10 | guilty and imposed a $14,000 fine; the railroad appealed to the | ||||||
11 | Appellate Court which reversed the trial court's ruling; after | ||||||
12 | which the Village of Mundelein appealed to the Illinois Supreme | ||||||
13 | Court; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Supreme Court recently struck down | ||||||
15 | the Village of Mundelein ordinance modeled after the Illinois | ||||||
16 | statute in the case of Village of Mundelein v. Wisconsin | ||||||
17 | Central Railroad; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Federal | ||||||
19 | Railroad Safety Authorization Act of 1994 preempts both | ||||||
20 | Illinois law and municipal ordinances; therefore, be it
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21 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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1 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
2 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the United States Congress, the | ||||||
3 | United States Department of Transportation, and the United | ||||||
4 | States Department of Homeland Security, be encouraged to | ||||||
5 | promptly take the necessary legislative and administrative | ||||||
6 | steps to rectify the safety concerns that arise when trains | ||||||
7 | block municipal railroad crossings for extensive lengths of | ||||||
8 | time; and be it further
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9 | RESOLVED, That the United States Congress, the United | ||||||
10 | States Department of Transportation, and the United States | ||||||
11 | Department of Homeland Security create guidelines and models | ||||||
12 | for municipalities to follow to ensure uniformity for both | ||||||
13 | municipalities and railroads; and be it further
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14 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
15 | delivered to the United States Secretary of Transportation, the | ||||||
16 | United States Secretary of Homeland Security, the Speaker and | ||||||
17 | minority leader of the United States House of Representatives, | ||||||
18 | the President Pro Tempore and the minority leader of the United | ||||||
19 | States Senate, and each member of the Illinois congressional | ||||||
20 | delegation.
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