Bill Text: IL SB1865 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Rail Crossing Blocking Act. Requires the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Department of Transportation to annually study railroad crossings in municipalities of 15,000 or more to identify crossings which if blocked for longer than 30 minutes would pose significant public safety concerns by impeding emergency, fire, and police. The Commission shall use the study to designate Essential Rail Crossings. Provides a municipality may, by ordinance, provide that a person or entity may not physically block an Essential Rail Crossing in a manner which obstructs traffic for a period in excess of a total of 30 minutes, unless the blocking of the crossing is by reason of circumstances over which the person or entity has no reasonable control, is necessary for maintenance of the crossing, is an emergency, or is otherwise allowed or required under State or federal law, rule, or regulation. Provides any municipality adopting an ordinance under the Act on an Essential Rail Crossing may impose, by ordinance, a fine for violation of this Act. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to make conforming changes.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-20 - Referred to Assignments [SB1865 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SB1865-Introduced.html

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99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2015 and 2016 SB1865 Introduced 2/20/2015, by Sen. Dale A. Righter SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
625 ILCS 5/18c-7402 from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7402
Creates the Rail Crossing Blocking Act. Requires the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Department of Transportation to annually study railroad crossings in municipalities of 15,000 or more to identify crossings which if blocked for longer than 30 minutes would pose significant public safety concerns by impeding emergency, fire, and police. The Commission shall use the study to designate Essential Rail Crossings. Provides a municipality may, by ordinance, provide that a person or entity may not physically block an Essential Rail Crossing in a manner which obstructs traffic for a period in excess of a total of 30 minutes, unless the blocking of the crossing is by reason of circumstances over which the person or entity has no reasonable control, is necessary for maintenance of the crossing, is an emergency, or is otherwise allowed or required under State or federal law, rule, or regulation. Provides any municipality adopting an ordinance under the Act on an Essential Rail Crossing may impose, by ordinance, a fine for violation of this Act. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to make conforming changes.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning transportation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Rail
Crossing Blocking Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
context clearly requires otherwise, the following terms are
defined as indicated:
"Essential Rail Crossing" means a railroad-highway grade
crossing designated by the Illinois Commerce Commission under
Section 10 of this Act.
"Physically block" means to obstruct the movement of all
motor vehicle traffic from passing through a railroad-highway
grade crossing, and includes blocking of a crossing by a
malfunctioning railroad crossing signal and gate located on the
railroad right-of-way.
"Rail carrier" means any person engaged in the
transportation of property or passengers for hire by railroad,
together with all employees or agents of this person or entity,
and all property used, controlled, or owned by this person or
entity.
Section 10. Illinois Commerce Commission rail crossing

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designation.
The Illinois Commerce Commission and the Department of
Transportation shall conduct a study annually of
railroad-highway grade crossings located within municipalities
with a population of 15,000 or more inhabitants, as determined
by the most recent federal census, to identify those crossings
which if blocked from normal motor vehicle traffic flow for a
period of time in excess of 30 minutes would pose significant
public safety concerns by impeding emergency, fire, and police
use of the crossings. The Commission and Department may consult
with an affected municipality for purposes of the study. The
Commission shall use the study to annually designate any
railroad-highway grade crossings in those municipalities as
Essential Rail Crossings and shall publish its Essential Rail
Crossing designations on its Internet website. The Commission
shall notify each municipality of the location of any Essential
Rail Crossing designations within the municipality.
Section 15. Obstruction of Essential Rail Crossing
ordinance.
(a) A municipality, other than as provided in subsection
(b), may by ordinance, provide that a person or entity may not
physically block an Essential Rail Crossing within the
municipality in a manner which obstructs motor vehicle traffic
over the crossing for a period in excess of 30 minutes, unless
the blocking of the crossing is by reason of circumstances over

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which the person or entity has no reasonable control, is
necessary for maintenance of the crossing, is an emergency, or
is otherwise allowed or required under State or federal law,
rule, or regulation. The ordinance may not apply to a rail
carrier's train or railroad car which is continuously moving or
cannot be moved by reason of circumstances over which the rail
carrier has no reasonable control, is necessary for
maintenance, is an emergency, or is otherwise allowed or
required under State or federal law, rule, or regulation.
(b) A municipality within a county with a population of
more than 1,000,000, as determined by the most recent federal
census, may by ordinance provide that during the hours of 7:00
a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m. a person
or entity may not physically block an Essential Rail Crossing
in a manner which obstructs motor vehicle traffic over the
crossing for a period in excess of a total of 30 minutes,
except when the blocking is by reason of circumstances over
which the person or entity has no reasonable control, is
necessary for maintenance of the crossing, is an emergency, or
is otherwise allowed or required under State or federal law,
rule, or regulation. The ordinance may not apply to a rail
carrier's train or railroad car which is continuously moving or
where the train or railroad car cannot be moved by reason or
circumstances over which the rail carrier has no reasonable
control, is necessary for maintenance, is an emergency, or is
otherwise allowed or required by State or federal law, rule, or

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regulation.
(c) The ordinance must also provide that under no
circumstances shall a moving train be stopped for the purposes
of issuing a citation related to this Section, and that no
employee acting under the rules or orders of his or her
employer or its supervisory personnel may be prosecuted for a
violation of this Section.
Section 20. Penalty for obstruction of grade crossing.
Any municipality adopting an ordinance under Section 15 of
this Act may impose, by ordinance, a fine for violating the
applicable subsection (a) or (b) of Section 15 of this Act.
Section 100. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
changing Section 18c-7402 as follows:
(625 ILCS 5/18c-7402) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7402)
Sec. 18c-7402. Safety Requirements for Railroad
Operations.
(1) Obstruction of Crossings.
(a) Obstruction of Emergency Vehicles. Every railroad
shall be operated in such a manner as to minimize
obstruction of emergency vehicles at crossings. Where such
obstruction occurs and the train crew is aware of the
obstruction, the train crew shall immediately take any
action, consistent with safe operating procedure,

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necessary to remove the obstruction. In the Chicago and St.
Louis switching districts, every railroad dispatcher or
other person responsible for the movement of railroad
equipment in a specific area who receives notification that
railroad equipment is obstructing the movement of an
emergency vehicle at any crossing within such area shall
immediately notify the train crew through use of existing
communication facilities. Upon notification, the train
crew shall take immediate action in accordance with this
paragraph.
(b) (Blank). Obstruction of Highway at Grade Crossing
Prohibited. It is unlawful for a rail carrier to permit any
train, railroad car or engine to obstruct public travel at
a railroad-highway grade crossing for a period in excess of
10 minutes, except where such train or railroad car is
continuously moving or cannot be moved by reason of
circumstances over which the rail carrier has no reasonable
control.
In a county with a population of greater than 1,000,000, as
determined by the most recent federal census, during the hours
of 7:00 a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m.
it is unlawful for a rail carrier to permit any single train or
railroad car to obstruct public travel at a railroad-highway
grade crossing in excess of a total of 10 minutes during a 30
minute period, except where the train or railroad car cannot be
moved by reason or circumstances over which the rail carrier

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has no reasonable control. Under no circumstances will a moving
train be stopped for the purposes of issuing a citation related
to this Section.
However, no employee acting under the rules or orders of
the rail carrier or its supervisory personnel may be prosecuted
for a violation of this subsection (b).
(c) (Blank). Punishment for Obstruction of Grade
Crossing. Any rail carrier violating paragraph (b) of this
subsection shall be guilty of a petty offense and fined not
less than $200 nor more than $500 if the duration of the
obstruction is in excess of 10 minutes but no longer than
15 minutes. If the duration of the obstruction exceeds 15
minutes the violation shall be a business offense and the
following fines shall be imposed: if the duration of the
obstruction is in excess of 15 minutes but no longer than
20 minutes, the fine shall be $500; if the duration of the
obstruction is in excess of 20 minutes but no longer than
25 minutes, the fine shall be $700; if the duration of the
obstruction is in excess of 25 minutes, but no longer than
30 minutes, the fine shall be $900; if the duration of the
obstruction is in excess of 30 minutes but no longer than
35 minutes, the fine shall be $1,000; if the duration of
the obstruction is in excess of 35 minutes, the fine shall
be $1,000 plus an additional $500 for each 5 minutes of
obstruction in excess of 25 minutes of obstruction.
(2) Other Operational Requirements.

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(a) Bell and Whistle-Crossings. Every rail carrier
shall cause a bell, and a whistle or horn to be placed and
kept on each locomotive, and shall cause the same to be
rung or sounded by the engineer or fireman, at the distance
of a least 1,320 feet, from the place where the railroad
crosses or intersects any public highway, and shall be kept
ringing or sounding until the highway is reached; provided
that at crossings where the Commission shall by order
direct, only after a hearing has been held to determine the
public is reasonably and sufficiently protected, the rail
carrier may be excused from giving warning provided by this
paragraph.
(a-5) The requirements of paragraph (a) of this
subsection (2) regarding ringing a bell and sounding a
whistle or horn do not apply at a railroad crossing that
has a permanently installed automated audible warning
device authorized by the Commission under Section
18c-7402.1 that sounds automatically when an approaching
train is at least 1,320 feet from the crossing and that
keeps sounding until the lead locomotive has crossed the
highway. The engineer or fireman may ring the bell or sound
the whistle or horn at a railroad crossing that has a
permanently installed audible warning device.
(b) Speed Limits. Each rail carrier shall operate its
trains in compliance with speed limits set by the
Commission. The Commission may set train speed limits only

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where such limits are necessitated by extraordinary
circumstances effecting the public safety, and shall
maintain such train speed limits in effect only for such
time as the extraordinary circumstances prevail.
The Commission and the Department of Transportation
shall conduct a study of the relation between train speeds
and railroad-highway grade crossing safety. The Commission
shall report the findings of the study to the General
Assembly no later than January 5, 1997.
(c) Special Speed Limit; Pilot Project. The Commission
and the Board of the Commuter Rail Division of the Regional
Transportation Authority shall conduct a pilot project in
the Village of Fox River Grove, the site of the fatal
school bus accident at a railroad crossing on October 25,
1995, in order to improve railroad crossing safety. For
this project, the Commission is directed to set the maximum
train speed limit for Regional Transportation Authority
trains at 50 miles per hour at intersections on that
portion of the intrastate rail line located in the Village
of Fox River Grove. If the Regional Transportation
Authority deliberately fails to comply with this maximum
speed limit, then any entity, governmental or otherwise,
that provides capital or operational funds to the Regional
Transportation Authority shall appropriately reduce or
eliminate that funding. The Commission shall report to the
Governor and the General Assembly on the results of this

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pilot project in January 1999, January 2000, and January
2001. The Commission shall also submit a final report on
the pilot project to the Governor and the General Assembly
in January 2001. The provisions of this subsection (c),
other than this sentence, are inoperative after February 1,
2001.
(3) Report and Investigation of Rail Accidents.
(a) Reports. Every rail carrier shall report to the
Commission, by the speediest means possible, whether
telephone, telegraph, or otherwise, every accident
involving its equipment, track, or other property which
resulted in loss of life to any person. In addition, such
carriers shall file a written report with the Commission.
Reports submitted under this paragraph shall be strictly
confidential, shall be specifically prohibited from
disclosure, and shall not be admissible in any
administrative or judicial proceeding relating to the
accidents reported.
(b) Investigations. The Commission may investigate all
railroad accidents reported to it or of which it acquires
knowledge independent of reports made by rail carriers, and
shall have the power, consistent with standards and
procedures established under the Federal Railroad Safety
Act, as amended, to enter such temporary orders as will
minimize the risk of future accidents pending notice,
hearing, and final action by the Commission.

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(Source: P.A. 91-675, eff. 6-1-00; 92-284, eff. 8-9-01.)