Delegates, officers, and guests attending the Illinois State Legislative Board’s 2026 quadrennial meeting.
Brother Cory Martin of BLET Division 135 (Beardstown, Ill.) was reelected Chairman of the Illinois State Legislative Board at its 17th quadrennial meeting in Springfield, Ill., August 31-September 2.
The BLET Illinois State Legislative Board represents more than 3,000 active and retired members in 37 different BLET divisions. Home of the nation’s freight and passenger rail hubs, all seven Class I railroads operate within the state, and approximately 25 percent of the nation’s freight passes through Illinois. It is also home to Metra, the nation’s second-largest commuter rail system.
BLET National President Mark Wallace addressed delegates regarding several issues of national importance, including the growing strength of the BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference on Capitol Hill. BLET First Vice President Gary Best provided an update on BLET’s efforts to oppose the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger.
Also elected were: 1st Vice Chairman Brandon Stewart, Division 96 (Chicago); 2nd Vice Chairman Erica McVey, Division 45 (Carbondale, Ill.); 3rd Vice Chairman Chad Clayton, Division 644 (Galesburg, Ill.); and Secretary-Treasurer Charles Grigsby, Division 602 (Champaign, Ill.).
During the meeting, the Board presented a commemorative brass bell to Tim Drea, President of the Illinois State AFL-CIO. Led by Chairman Martin, the Illinois State Legislative Board worked extensively with President Drea last year to avert a fiscal cliff that would have drastically reduced service at commuter rail agency Metra and all of Chicago’s other public transit agencies.
