Glenview Approves Contracts For Lobbying, Freight Impact Study

GLENVIEW, IL — Village trustees approved a contract last week to carry out an analysis of rail traffic as part of the village's opposition to a proposed expansion of rail service between Chicago and Milwaukee. The Glenview Village Board unanimously approved a resolution at its July 2 meeting to enter into a $160,000 contract with a transportation consulting firm, as well as a contract to lobby the federal government and an increase in its contract for state government lobbying. The new freight impact study will provide the village with valuable expertise to strengthen the village's hand in discussions with regulators and others and research alternatives to a recommended two-mile third track for two-miles between Glenview and Northbrook, according to village staff.

In addition to the contract with the consulting firm, trustees approved a $72,000 contract with a law firm for government relations services and an additional $30,000 to a contract with a lobbying firm for legislative services. That extra money will allow the company to add to its team lobbyist Nancy Kimme, who worked as chief of staff to former comptroller Judy Baar Topinka and was a member of Gov. Bruce Rauner's transition.

In May, the village board gave the green light to spending $400,000 from the 2018 budget to oppose the proposed expansion of the Amtrak Hiawatha expansion project. With the approval of contracts with consultancy Transportation Economics & Management Systems, law firm Barnes & Thornburg and lobbyists Morril & Fielder, the village has allocated $382,000 of its budget so far, according to a report from Deputy Village Manager Don Owen. The remaining $18,000 in the project budget has been set aside for lawyers, but no contract has yet been awarded.

In October 2016, state and federal rail officials released an environmental assessment laying out expansion plans for a $231 million expansion plan to the Amtrak Hiawatha line, which provides service between Chicago and Milwaukee. The expansion would increase the number of round trips from 7 to 10. Village staff questioned why the project is necessary at all, given the Hiawatha line is currently below 40 percent of its capacity.

Glenview's highest priority is to eliminate the proposed holding track, according to the staff report. The track would allow Canadian Pacific fright trains to wait for faster trains to pass until they can have clear passage to Union Pacific tracks. It would require two new bridges and a retaining wall of between 10 to 20 feet, as well as changes to the crossing at West Lake Avenue.

Staff believe the project will have "significant negative impacts on Glenview" and a more comprehensive environmental impact statement is necessary to supplement the 2016 environmental assessment of the plan.

The village's other goals include moving the Amtrak stop from downtown to The Glen and relocating the proposed universal crossover on Metra's Milwaukee District North tracks south of Dewes Street. The crossover would allow trains to switch tracks in case of emergency or congestion, but Owen said they are noisey and, if used improperly, can "introduce more opportunities for derailments."

Funding for the project to oppose the expansion comes from the village's "permanent fund," which receives money from the village's role as master developer of The Glen, according to the staff report.

Owen told Pioneer Press the village expects to allocate more money next year to continue its opposition to the project. The deputy village manager said a new capacity analysis should strengthen the village's case by suggesting improvements that would eliminate the need for trains to stop around Glenview.

"We’ll be able to provide information that should be considered and that might actually change their outcome," Owen said. "[It] should give us credibility in being able to justify our assumptions and to make recommendations for alternatives that would not include the holding track.”

More: Glenview Considers $400,000 Project To Fight Amtrak Expansion