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A Chicago-area county and village have taken steps to overturn the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) decision approving Canadian National Railway Co.’s acquisition of a major portion of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Co. (EJ&E).

On Monday, Will County officials filed a petition with the STB to stay its Dec. 24 decision until all legal appeals are exhausted.

The village of Barrington, Ill., also filed for a stay with the board in addition to filing an appeal of the STB's decision with the U.S. Court Of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Barrington officials believe the STB acted improperly when it approved the transaction by not taking into account numerous environmental and other concerns cited by opponents during the board’s environmental review process. The STB “failed to analyze all reasonable alternatives to the transaction and the reasonably foreseeable effects of additional track construction on the lines to be acquired, and the increased volume of other railroad current and future freight traffic on certain railroad lines in Chicago,” Barrington officials said in a prepared statement.

“We believe that the decision is wrong and is short-sighted in examining serious concerns raised by thousand of residents, transportation experts and elected leaders," said Karen Darch, Barrington’s president and a spokesperson for Barrington Communities Against CN Rail Congestion.

Other Chicago-area communities — including New Lenox — are considering whether to file similar petitions with the STB or seek legal action.

The STB's decision takes effect on Jan. 23. CN expects to close the transaction — under which it will acquire most of the EJ&E from U.S. Steel for $300 million — shortly afterwards.