In case you forgot, the Governors of Wisconsin and Florida made themselves poster-children for how foolish, ideologically-driven decision making can harm states that elected tea party candidates. Projects in both states would have created thousands of jobs and provided long term economic development benefits. Their loss is now Illinois' gain.
I searched for this story at the State Journal-Register. They ran a shortened AP story which barely mentioned any benefits of the project. Other articles around the state included more of the statement from Senators Durbin and Kirk.
“Illinois will be able to use this funding to upgrade an important segment of the Chicago to St. Louis corridor,” said Durbin, a Co-Chair and founding member of the Bi-Cameral High- Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Caucus. “Improvements to this route will improve on-time performance, increase travel speeds and create jobs that our state badly needs.
“This project will create nearly 6,000 direct and indirect jobs, decrease delays and improve performance,” U.S. Senator Mark Kirk said. “High speed rail projects like this one will ensure that Illinois remains at the center of the nation’s infrastructure network, attracting more jobs and making us more economically competitive.”
It's good to see that our new Republican Senator, Mark Kirk, isn't taking the tea party position of rejecting high speed rail money.
But, will the city of Springfield? Anyone who missed it should read Dick Durbin's reality check for Springfield published in the State Journal-Register. My interpretation of the Op-Ed is that local leaders have been blowing a lot of smoke, our options are limited, and we need to make the best decision based on our realistic choices. Just because the county is attached to their idea for an 11th street multi-modal center doesn't mean we're likely to get funds for rail line consolidation.
Let me repeat one of several crucial lines in the editorial. "Because the 10th Street corridor will primarily serve freight trains it is not likely to qualify for high-speed rail funds."
And: "Union Pacific and Canadian National have already said they will not pay to move their trains to the 10th Street corridor and they cannot legally be required to do so."
And thanks to our new tea-party-controlled Congress, there's not likely to be major new funding for passenger rail infrastructure improvements.
As Durbin pointed out, the 3rd Street corridor has had two tracks before. It didn't destroy downtown and historic structures didn't fall apart.
It's time for local leaders to stop presenting worst case scenarios and start working on our own 3rd street mitigation plan that's the least objectionable option. We need a realistic conversation about how high speed rail can be used to improve our city center, no matter which corridor is used.