The city will be getting quiet zones, sound barriers along the tracks near a residential neighborhood, a berm near another neighborhood, a fence and grubbing where the tracks pass near Richland school, and a commitment to reduce the idling of trains in the city. All of this is being paid for by the CN at a cost of potentially over $1 million. They are of course not doing this merely out of the goodness of their hearts, but to try to win support for their purchase of the tracks. The city though did work hard to get all that they could.
I commend the hard work of city staff on this effort and congratulate the Council on approving an agreement with a company that many in Crest Hill and many other suburbs would rather not see come here at all. They realized that we do not have the power to stop the deal, but we did have the power to create a number of benefits for ourselves. This willingness to work with CN has not been present in many other communities. Crest Hill definitely stands out as a shining example in this case. Too often I wish we would follow the example of other cities that are doing the right thing, but in this case we have chosen to set the example.
I will be hoping that our professional city staff continues to help the Council take advantage of opportunities such as this to put aside politics and do what is best for the city and its citizens. And of course that the Council continues to have the wisdom and dedication to take such actions.
