Leaport redevelopment commission sends Southshore switching agreement back to railroad after disputes over car counts and maintenance

LEAPORT COUNTY — The Leaport County Redevelopment Commission on June 24 voted to forward a proposed switching and license agreement with Chicago Southshore (Southshore Railroad) back to the railroad for additional review after commissioners and local rail customers disagreed about projected traffic and maintenance obligations.

The dispute centered on how many revenue-bearing rail movements would occur at industrial sites in the county and who would bear maintenance and capital costs for the tracks. Tony Kzakvich, representing Chicago Southshore, said the railroad's accounting shows “roughly 900 car loads and revenue empties per year” and that the railroad could share records to support billing and revenue splits. Kzakvich described the figure as historical data and said his team could provide accounting records for verification.

Kim Carroll, representing JBC (the park's largest customer), challenged that estimate, saying the actual incoming car count since October 2025 has been “so low” that she did not believe it approached 900 cars and offered to provide JBC's records to prove that point. Carroll also said tenants in the park participate in maintenance costs and that a recent tie replacement would raise assessments; she questioned why the proposed agreement would allow Southshore movements without a corresponding maintenance obligation.

Commissioners and staff repeatedly emphasized they are not in the railroad business and that existing easements and switching agreements with JBC and other operators remain in force. Commissioners said the county's role is to provide easements and facilitate arrangements, not to operate switching services.

The transcript captures a rough ballpark calculation discussed by participants: at about $200 per loaded move, 900 loaded moves would equate to roughly $180,000 annually; presenters described this as a ballpark figure rather than a firm guarantee. Commissioners requested clearer documentation of car counts and revenue calculations before approving any final agreement.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to forward the draft agreement back to Chicago Southshore for their review and further consideration; the motion carried on a voice vote. Commissioners clarified that forwarding the document for review did not constitute signing or final approval of the agreement.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff or the railroad will provide more detailed traffic and accounting reports to the commission for review, and the agreement will return for further consideration once Southshore and its legal counsel have reviewed the commission's edits.

The commission did not vote to execute the agreement at the meeting.