by CHTT1
Now that the voters of Illinois have kicked out Bruce Rauner, perhaps the Rockford train proposals will be revived. Hopefully, new governor J.B. Pritzker will get IDOT to complete the Chicago-St. Louis high speed project.
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CHTT1 wrote:Now that the voters of Illinois have kicked out Bruce Rauner, perhaps the Rockford train proposals will be revived. Hopefully, new governor J.B. Pritzker will get IDOT to complete the Chicago-St. Louis high speed project.Of perhaps more immediate interest, will the Quad Cities service move closer to reality? I believe the Moline station is complete, but trackwork on IAIS needs to be done, along with the connection to BNSF at Wyanet.
Roadgeek Adam wrote:Don't forget Geneseo station. Regardless, I'd prioritize the nearly finished Moline service.Yes, and after the Quad Cities service is operational, THEN the state can focus on bringing service to Rockford. The advisory referendum showing support for passenger rail service to Rockford passed with flying colors - almost 80% voted "YES" on it. So that tells the state that Rockford badly wants service. Governor-elect JB Pritzker says that he'll seek federal funds to pay for the majority of the capital startup costs of a Rockford service.
ryanch wrote:On the Quad Cities and Rockford/Dubuque services, ask and you shall receive:Well, good to know that folks are still thinking about these services. Nothing will happen before Pritzker gets his team in place, but suspect the lobbying has begun.
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Receive news, that is. You're not going to receive the new services any time soon.
CHTT1 wrote:Now that the voters of Illinois have kicked out Bruce Rauner, perhaps the Rockford train proposals will be revived. Hopefully, new governor J.B. Pritzker will get IDOT to complete the Chicago-St. Louis high speed project.Don't hold your breath. Madigan's minions have had a veto-proof majority for ages and you can see what has gotten done. Having his "boy" in the governor's mansion will just help him bankrupt the state further.
eolesen wrote:Madigan could have approved funding for the Quinn announced Amtrak routes at any time during Rauner's tenure."Jumbo" Very classy, eolesen. Nothing like bring a discussion down to the gutter.
He didn't.
ILL has a spending problem and a liability problem. Those issues have to be addressed before anything Jumbo campaigned on can be fulfilled, and he's already promised money to education, Medicare, roads and bridges.
No mention of trains, nor do I expect there to be other than Metra.
The reality is that Jumbo only has to keep Chicago happy in order to get re-elected. The Quad Cities and Rockford won't get any attention until his re-election campaign fires up.