I wasn't at the meeting of the Red Line Citizens Advisory Council last night, but I understand there were some fireworks. I'm not sure how important these matters are in the great scheme of things regarding the proposed east-west transit line, but they do reflect the depth of the opposition in some quarters to surface light rail through Canton and the Edmondson Avenue corridor -- the controversial aspects of the alternative favored by the Dixon administration and city business leaders.

One caveat about the Citizens Advisory Council: It isn't as big a deal as some of its members think it is. The relevant word here is "advisory." It's not a decision-making body. But its views are significant enough that  proponents of the leading alternative took comfort in their vote  in December in favor  of the alternative known as 4C. Opponents have a right to see a glimmer of hope in the apparent weakening of support shown that alternative.

In the absence of an unbiased report, here is the account of the proceedings from Ben Rosenberg, a Canton resident and fierce opponent of 4C:

Warren Smith, one of the Council members, moved to rescind the CAC's December 11 recommendation of 4-C. At the December 11 meeting, 9 members of the CAC were present. Of those 9, 2 abstained, 2 voted against 4-C and 5 voted in favor. I believe there are 14 members of the CAC. Tonight, 11 members were present. A majority of 6 voted to rescind the recommendation on account of the very strong east/west opposition to surface light rail. The Chair, Ms Bethea-Spearman, ruled that the moton to rescind failed because it required a 2/3 majority. She was wrong because the motion was on the CAC's agenda and under Robert's Rules of Order, only a simple majority is required to rescind a previous vote if there is prior notice of the motion. But that's not really the point which is that more members of the CAC voted to rescind the 4-C recommendation than voted for it.