State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SR0035

 
                                               LRB9207491RHrh

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, In  the  development  of  the  American  railway
 3    system most railroads had routes to and from Chicago; and

 4        WHEREAS,  The  Chicago  area  is  still  the key railroad
 5    network hub for most North American railroads; and

 6        WHEREAS, Chicago's role as the central hub of  the  North
 7    American  rail  freight industry has been magnified by recent
 8    mergers within the railroad industry; and

 9        WHEREAS, Today, within the Chicago area, there  are  over
10    700  miles  of  mainline  tracks  that  carry more than 1,100
11    trains going through the area daily; and

12        WHEREAS, The Chicago area is also  criss-crossed  by  the
13    operation   of  local,  commuter,  and  inter-city  passenger
14    trains; and

15        WHEREAS, There are no federal or State  laws  restricting
16    train lengths and, according to industry sources, coal trains
17    can be up to 150 cars long; and

18        WHEREAS,  This  tremendously  high  number  of trains has
19    resulted  in  severe  problems  with  trains  blocking  grade
20    crossings for significant periods of time; and

21        WHEREAS, This blocking of grade crossings has  endangered
22    the  ability  of police officers, ambulance drivers, and fire
23    fighters to perform their duties; and

24        WHEREAS, In addition  to  the  constant  and  aggravating
25    inconvenience  these  crossing  blockages cause to motorists,
26    there are reports that school children, fearing they will  be
27    late  for  school, are crawling underneath these trains while
28    the trains are blocking intersections; therefore, be it

29        RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-SECOND  GENERAL
 
                            -2-                LRB9207491RHrh
 1    ASSEMBLY  OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that there is created the
 2    Grade Crossing Obstruction Task Force consisting of 5 members
 3    of the Senate, with 3 members and the chairman  appointed  by
 4    the  President  of  the Senate and 2 members appointed by the
 5    Minority Leader  of  the  Senate;  all  members  shall  serve
 6    without compensation; and be it further

 7        RESOLVED,  That the Task Force shall study various issues
 8    relating  to  frequency  and  duration  of   grade   crossing
 9    blockages  and  the  effectiveness of the railroad industry's
10    attempts to deal with this serious problem; and be it further

11        RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall meet at the  call  of
12    the  Chairman,  shall hold public hearings, shall receive the
13    assistance  of  legislative  staff,  and  shall  report   its
14    findings  and  recommendations  to  the  Senate  on or before
15    January 31, 2002; and be it further

16        RESOLVED, That upon filing its report the Task  Force  is
17    dissolved.

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