Comment EI-25542
Received or sent (printed as 11/5/2016)
As a resident in beautiful rural Winnebago County for 30 years, I'm opposed to the GLB Rail project. This unnecessary PRIVATE rail system with no experience should not be able to blindly come through & destroy & obtain private property, homes, businesses & farms for private gain! Especially when communities were not made aware of routes & able to participate in the Public Comment period. This rail could be hauling potential harmful substances, traveling at 70 mph with over 100 trains a day in our & other communities! We sit in a wetland area with the beginning of a very essential aquifer! The grade of this rail project will increase flooding & God forbid a derailment or spill could forever damage the water supply to thousands of acres of land. This area is responsible for countless crops that the country depends on & the crossing of farm equipment when there would be a train every 13 minutes would be catastrophic. The road closures along should bring pause to anyone who cares about safety & emergency services. People would be land locked in our own community. Ambulance & fire rescue would no longer be able to reach anyone west of the rail in the 15 minute time frame we now have. We would be cut off from all three major hospitals in Rockford & have to go 45-60 minutes away due to road closures! Lives are more important than a bunch of businessman making more money! A 20 min drive to work could could now double or triple in time. OUR local Shirland school would probably close & have to consolidate with a district to the West vs Rockton School District due to road closures. As a teacher I realize a school is the heart of a small community. Many businesses in our area will be destroyed besides the family farms. Apples orchards, organic farm, several outdoor wedding venues, campgrounds & more would lose their livelihood, because mysterious businessmen want to make money on a faster rail to avoid Chicago. Promises of imaginary jobs created DO NOT OUT WAY THE LIVELIHOOD of the existing families that will experience economic ruin because of this rail & the role of the STB! The environmental impact on our water, land, rare wildlife, river systems & nature in general will be forever impacted by the noise & pollution submitted throughout the region. THE negative impact of this Rail Proposal are endless, whereas the positive are zero! CAreful, thoughtful, & FAIR consideration of THE REAL people & businesses need to be considered by the STB, before the greed of a very Suspicious group of inveters! Our community & myself hope this appointed Board will do the right thing & give people back some hope about Government!
Submitted by: Robin Johnson · Rockton, Illinois
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35952/comment/EI-25542 · back to the docket sheet