Political Quotes

“I certainly want to applaud commend and thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) for this special order. It is a very, very important special order and it is very timely. Mr. Speaker, requiring trains to blow horns at railroad crossings is not a bad idea, in theory. This small action may prevent accidents and it may prevent deaths at railroad crossings, but in practice the train whistle rule does not apply to my State of Illinois where railroad crossing accidents have decreased by 52 percent since 1989. Once enacted, the Railroad Administration rule requiring trains to sound their horns at all rail crossings will greatly reduce the quality of life for Illinois residents. We in Illinois have already succeeded in drastically reducing railroad crossing fatalities. In my district alone, nearly 200,000 residents will be affected by the whistle blowing rule and more than 66,000 of those residents, my residents, will be severely impacted. Of the approximately 2,000 crossings identified by the FRA, 899 are located in Illinois, putting my home State at a severe disadvantage when FRA finally enforces the whistle rule. Installing alternative safety measures that meet FRA requirements could cost Illinois an estimated $590 million, which will require right-away acquisitions and other infrastructure improvements in order to put these, quote, quiet zones, end quote, measures into place.”