Heh. When that happened to us, we drew a GP40-2W CN was using as a yard switcher. I heard over the radio "Whaddaya mean this engine has a 70 mile per hour maximum?" It got us there... eventually. In your case Kankakee is not ridiculously far from CHI. Given the relatively close distance and the way CN drags their feet on stuff like this I wonder if it would have been faster to grab something out of the facility in Chicago.
That is, provided that CN would permit the light engine movement. I've mentioned elsewhere about CN trumping-up pseudo-technical excuses to hobble Amtrak and other passenger services on their rails, and I'm sure they have such an excuse on tap for this instance. :wacko: