Cory Martin
Illinois State Legislative Board Chairman
Congressman Chuy Garcia
Had an excellent conversation with Congressman Chuy Garcia this morning. As you can expect, he is very squarely behind the Railway Safety legislation moving through the US Congress. I stressed to him the importance that ALL of the items and protections must stay in...
Just so you know, this is now who we have on T&I…
Nehls Leads Call for Biden Administration to Prioritize Rail Safety Over Special Interests? Washington, D.C. - Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), Chairman of the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, led fellow T&I Committee Republicans in urging the...
Minnesota ISLB Quadrennial Meeting
Got some quality time with our National officers Vince Verna and Brendan Sullivan while attending Minnesota's Quadrennial meeting. Special thanks to State Chairman Joel Mueller for inviting Illinois to participate.
REMINDER ANOUNCEMENT! MAY 1st DUE DATE.
The annual ISLB Don Little Memorial Scholarships for 2023. The Illinois State Legislative Board will be awarding up to (3) $1000 scholarships to Illinois member’s children going to college. Applications MUST BE SUBMITTED by May 1st 2023. I have posted the documents in...
2023 Don Little Scholarship Applications
The BLET’s Illinois State Legislative Board is currently accepting applications for its Don Little Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was established in 2013. Up to Three (3) $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to applicants whose parent or guardian is a BLET member in...
Congratulations to the 2022 Don Little Memorial Scholarship Winners!
We proudly announce the two recipients of the 2022 Don Little Memorial Scholarships. Haley Dahl from Belvidere, IL and Jacob Harris from Pittsboro, IN. Congratulations!
Don Little Memorial Scholarship Fund
The BLET’s Illinois State Legislative Board is currently accepting applications for its Don Little Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was established in 2013. Two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to applicants whose parent or guardian is a BLET member in good...
Call To Action!
March 11, 2021 Brothers and Sisters, Once again, I am asking you to rise to the occasion, once again a call to action! The Illinois House Bill HB2524 – VEH CD- FREIGHT TRAIN LENGTH has been assigned to a committee and we MUST “slip” this committee as a proponent...
Train Length Legislation
February 16, 2021 Brothers and Sisters, First, a little news regarding some recent legislative developments within Illinois. SMART- TD has spear headed and introduced train length legislation in multiple states throughout the US. Small variations in the exact language...
Covid-19 Mishandling Reporting
Brothers and Sisters, Please exercise all caution during this COVID 19 pandemic emergency. I am asking you to report to me any practices at your respective railroads that are contrary to the recommendations of the CDC or Illinois Department of Public Health. I will...
CTA Says Red Line Extension a ‘Top Priority’ for Biden Administration, on Track to Begin Construction Next Year
CTA Says Red Line Extension a ‘Top Priority’ for Biden Administration, on Track to Begin Construction Next Year Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter said the agency is on track to hit a major milestone in the Red Line Extension project by the end of the...
Elon Musk Wants to Gut the National Labor Relations Act
Elon Musk hates unions, with a white-hot passion that has rendered him delusional. In late November, at a New York Times DealBook Summit where the aspiring-to-be-rich gather to get pointers from the actually rich, the Tesla CEO explained that “I disagree with the idea...
Norfolk Southern rolls out productivity, accountability plans
Norfolk Southern rolls out productivity, accountability plans Norfolk Southern Corp. yesterday announced new initiatives the company says are designed to drive productivity and accountability. The initiatives will empower recently appointed Chief Operating Officer...
As head of the Federal Railroad Administration, Amitabha Bose is driving an increase in safety precautions and overseeing unprecedented rail investments through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Around half a million railroad carloads of freight are...
US Senate to consider nomination of NTSB chair for new term
US Senate to consider nomination of NTSB chair for new term WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will hold an April 10 hearing on the nomination of Jennifer Homendy to serve a new term as chair of the National Transportation Safety Board....
DOT Inspector General finds flaws in FRA’s efforts to address Hours of Service compliance, worker fatigue
DOT Inspector General finds flaws in FRA’s efforts to address Hours of Service compliance, worker fatigue WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration’s efforts to address Hours of Service compliance and worker fatigue are hampered by a lack of procedures and...
U.S. issues rule requiring at least two people on longest freight trains
U.S. issues rule requiring at least two people on longest freight trains The Biden administration on Tuesday required the largest freight railroads to operate their trains with at least two people on board, seeking to improve rail safety with a new mandate that...
STB denies CPKC request to give CN’s acquisition of Iowa Northern a more thorough review
STB denies CPKC request to give CN’s acquisition of Iowa Northern a more thorough review WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have rejected Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s contention that Canadian National’s proposed acquisition of 218-mile short line Iowa Northern should...
BNSF, CPKC say they won’t pay new Minnesota safety fee
BNSF, CPKC say they won’t pay new Minnesota safety fee ST. PAUL, Minn. — BNSF Railway and CPKC, the two largest railroads in Minnesota, do not plan to make payments of approximately $1 million to the state required by a law passed last year, saying the state...
Activist investor group would put Norfolk Southern back on PSR path, reduce operating ratio to 57%
Activist investor group would put Norfolk Southern back on PSR path, reduce operating ratio to 57% CLEVELAND — An activist investor group says its proposed Norfolk Southern management team would improve the railroad’s operations, service, and profitability by...