With Huntley out of the running, Marengo is looking at whether it could be the next stop along the Chicago-to-Rockford rail line.

Marengo officials expressed interest in getting a stop earlier this year, and Huntley declining their planned station may have opened up a possibility for Marengo.

While the city is interested in keeping the conversation going, officials said they feel there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

High among the concerns and details to be worked out include the city’s financial commitments and where a station would be located.

Still, 3rd Ward Alderman Matt Keenum said, “In general, I believe this will be a positive development for the city of Marengo.”

Keenum said he expects opposition when change of any magnitude is mentioned, but is looking forward to getting more information and making the best decision for the city and its future.

“A potential RR stop is no exception and as such many naysayers are voicing their opinion [unfortunately often laced with heaps of mis-information],” Keenum said in an email.

Keenum said a quick look at social media “will showcase many who claim that a train station in Marengo will bring with it a huge influx of crime.”

Earlier this year, Police Chief Nathan Hayes said he didn’t have big concerns about violent crime, but more nuisance crime, and thought the train would be good for the town, according to Marengo records.

Keenum and the City Council talked about, but didn’t vote on, the station Nov. 10. City Administrator Derik Morefield said the purpose of the discussion was to see if the city was interested in still being considered for the stop.

“Council chose to remain in conversation for consideration,” Morefield said.

In a memo to the Council, Morefield wrote that there are limited options for a stop in McHenry County. But one possibility is Taylor Street in Marengo, near City Hall and close to downtown. That option would require Taylor Street to be permanently closed and the platform would go from just east of Taylor Street to the midpoint between Taylor Street and Route 23 to the west.

That also would require the use of a city lot for parking, Morefield wrote. He also wrote that there will be two round trips per day on the train, which might serve commuters, but the line is meant more for tourism and connecting Chicago to Rockford. He said he asked about the potential for expanded service as the area develops and was told the project provides that infrastructure but expansion would be a Metra decision based on ridership.

First Ward Alderman Amanda Damisch said there were more questions than answers. She said she was undecided at this point and didn’t have enough information to make a decision.

But, Damisch said, “the train’s coming through the town” because the tracks are there.

Among her questions are the actual timeline for the service starting, the city’s financial contribution and flexibility of the site location.

Damisch said on Nov. 10 that public opinion was about an even split: “Some were in favor, some were not in favor.” She said she was monitoring online conversations about the train station.

“It’s a good discussion,” Damisch said, adding people who oppose it are raising good points. She said she had heard directly from a few people, but wishes more would reach out.

Damisch also mentioned the recent Illinois transit bill and said people have contacted her and have been upset and frustrated with it.

The bill, which has given funding to transit agencies, reroutes some gas tax revenue to public transportation and increases the RTA sales tax to 1% in the collar counties. The bill also increases tolls by 45 cents for passenger cars on the tollway system, part of a plan to fund tollway capital projects, according to Capitol News Illinois.

But in Marengo, a lot of people use the tollway to commute. Interstate 90 has an interchange with Route 23 on the outskirts of town.

“Those are real dollars leaving the community,” Damisch said.

Like Damisch, 1st Ward Alderman Michael Miller said he was on the fence and needs more information. He agrees there are more questions than answers.

Miller also said funding and timetables were among his questions.

“Marengo certainly can’t afford it,” Miller said of building a station, but exploring it wasn’t costing anything other than a little staff time.

He said there is a “common misconception” that it would be a commuter rail line, but said it was presented Nov. 10 as two trains in the morning and two in the evening.

He said he had seen people talking on social media about the train bringing in crime and homelessness, but said he didn’t think that would be the case.

Lake in the Hills Village President Ray Bogdanowski, who chairs the McHenry County Council of Governments’ transportation committee, told the Village Board in October that the committee has formally backed the Chicago-to-Rockford rail line, although Huntley declined. There’s a request to explore a station in Marengo, Union or both, Bogdanowski said.

Marengo-Union Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Colleen Helfers said the Chamber would “welcome [a train stop] if it brought business to our town,” adding officials have to work out details, but if done correctly it could be “beneficial to our town.”

Marengo downtown businesses are split on the proposal: some supportive, some opposed, but many undecided.

Jill Quick, the owner of Jane’s On State, said she hadn’t done extensive research about the train, but was neutral about it coming to town.

“I’m not swayed either way,” Quick said.

Glori Wilson, who owns Marengo Emporium alongside her husband, Owen Wilson, said she was “kind of on the fence” about the train.

She said she went to a recent city meeting and learned the plan is not for a commuter line. She said it didn’t seem like it made sense to do two morning and two evening trains, but said she figured people more knowledgeable than her on that issue were making that decision. She said it would be great if it brought people and commerce to town, but she didn’t know if it would.

“There’s a lot of unknowns,” Wilson said.