SUBSTITUTE ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago ("City'") is a home rule unit of government by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution of the State of Illinois of 1970, and as such, may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to an ordinance (the "1928 Ordinance"-) passed by the City Council ofthe City (the "City Council") on July 11, 1928, and published in the Journal of the Proceedings of the City Council (the "Journal") for such date at pages 3310, et seq, the City authorized and required the Belt Railway Company of Chicago ("Belt Railway") to elevate its track and construct a grade separated crossing of its tracks over Columbus Avenue, in the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, beginning with a Joint Statement of Understandings ("JSOU") in 2003, the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency ("CREATE") Program has resulted in joint and coordinated projects by and among the Class 1 freight railroads (including CSX), Amtrak, Metra, the Illinois Department of Transportation ("IDOT'), Cook County and the Chicago Department of Transportation ("CDOT") to restructure, modernize and expand the freight and passenger rail facilities and public highway systems and reduce environmental and social impacts of rail operations in the Chicago metropolitan area; and
WHEREAS, the grade separation of the Belt Railway line and Columbus Avenue was never constructed as required; and
WHEREAS, IDOT, CDOT, and the Belt Railway have agreed upon an alternative plan to construct a grade separation in the same location in order to separate the grades of rail traffic from surface street traffic at that location with the purpose of improving traffic safety and reducing delays and-other negative impacts of traffic; and
WHEREAS, as part ofthe CREATE Program, IDOT, CDOT and Belt Railway propose to construct such a bridge and viaduct as agreed ("Project"); and
WHEREAS, the Belt Railway agrees to maintain ...
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