CICERO, Ill. — The back and forth between the Chicago suburb of Cicero and BNSF railway, the town’s largest landowner, over flooding and taxation continues.
The Chicago Tribune reports a state legislator is seeking to pass legislation aimed at the railroad over what the town says is neighborhood flooding caused by pavement and work to raise the profile of the land at BNSF’s railyard. Cicero filed suit against the railroad over that flooding, after the railroad sued the city over a 1,250% increase in its sewer bill [see “Illinois town, BNSF square off in lawsuits …,” Trains News Wire, July 22, 2021].
A company representative told the newspaper the railroad does not normally comment on pending legal matters but “felt compelled to provide this statement in order to respond to the false allegations made by Cicero.” BNSF said a judge recently issued a temporary restraining order against the sewer rate increase; as for the storm runoff problem, the railroad said the city has provided no photos, dates, or other evidence and only recently provided information on locations it said were affected. “BNSF has filed a motion to dismiss Cicero’s complaint and believes its allegations are without merit.”
Several residents near the BNSF yard did tell the newspaper that their basements regularly flood when it rains, but were not sure who was at fault.
In October, State Rep. Mike Zalewski introduced an amendment to a bill otherwise dealing with tenure for public officials that would require “railroads owning more than 5% of land in a municipality within the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District [to] be in conformance with the requirements of the District’s Watershed Management Ordinance.” BNSF owns 7% of the land in Cicero. At a press conference earlier this month in Cicero, Zalewski said officials “simply want the Town of Cicero and the residents affected by flooding to be protected by this ordinance,” while other officials said they were demanding that BNSF be “held accountable for flooding problems.”
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