SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — In a surprise Saturday session, the Illinois General Assembly passed a $45 billion capital spending plan that sets out $2.7 billion for transit and $500 million to fund passenger service on two intercity routes. Gov. J.B. Pritzker praised passage of the bill and is expected to sign it shortly.
The legislation ends a decade-long capital investment drought in in the state, which last enacted a spending plan in 2009. The lack of funding delayed needed repair projects for the Chicago Transit Authority as well as Metra, and prevented planned new construction.
Susan Massel, spokeswoman for the Regional Transportation Authority, tells Trains News Wire by email, “We are heartened to see that in addition to the $2.7 billion allocated for transit capital funding through bonding, there is also annual, sustainable revenue, or ‘pay as you go’ funding allocated for public transportation capital funding.”
Although Massel says the RTA is still reviewing the details of the program, that recurring revenue will become a reality through a doubling of the state’s motor fuel tax from 19 cents per gallon to 38 cents. “This is the type of long-term, stable capital funding that public transportation needs and riders deserve to address our long term capital need of $30 billion over the next decade,” she says.
Specific rail-related programs in the bill include $225 million toward establishment of Chicago-Quad Cities passenger service and $275 million for Chicago-Rockford passenger service; $100 million toward extension of Metra service on the BNSF line into Kendall County; and $400 million toward the CREATE program fixing Chicago-area rail bottlenecks. Funds are also earmarked for repairs and upgrades at a number of specific Metra stations.
The landmark capital investment plan passed with bipartisan support in the legislature. “Senate Republicans demonstrated throughout this session that common ground could be found on key issues like investing in our state’s infrastructure, which will make critical improvements to our state’s roads, bridges and buildings,” said Bloomington’s Bill Brady, Senate Republican leader.
The package was supported by major business groups in the state as well. In a tweet, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce said, “We believe this package and its probusiness reforms will help pave the roads to future financial stability in IL!”
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association also applauded the governor and legislature “for balancing the state’s budget and making a bold investment to rebuild our state’s infrastructure.”
Follow Trains News Wire for more details on many of these projects as they become available.
I’ve already left. Although these rail projects are great, will anyone be left to ride them? Furthermore, the state is broke and this governor is merrily rearranging the chairs on the financial “Titanic” thus far.
Repairs shouldn’t be capital spending; they’re a cost of operations. Rebuilding for an “extended” life is a “capital” item, but there gets to be a blurring of the lines in all this. The concept is to make financials look better than they really are. Repairs/Rebuilding is much more important than a few more one-a-day each way intercity trains: there’s a reason those trains came off in the 1960’s. As for the retirement mess: sorry but the voters of Illinois made that hopeless by effectively enshrining the pensions into the state constitution so the courts will block any and all attempts at Reform–don’t even think of violent 1917-Petrograd-style Revolution. Eventually the cities and towns will be taking peoples’ homes for taxes to pay the pensions. Move out of Illinois before Illinois builds a Berlin-style Wall with armed civil-service-pensioned guards with shoot-to-kill orders to keep people in–just like East Germany and the Iron Curtain.
Unfortunately, the Governor’s budget does not consider pension reform. Public employees in the state of Illinois have the most generous pensions in the United States. Most private firms have replaced thier pension programs with 401-k programs where employees contribute their earned income to the 401-k fund. Not so in the state of Illinois. In addition, most pensioners receive a 3% increase in their pension every year, even in the absence of inflation. No wonder the state is broke.
Do you read the newspapers? This is a balanced budget for the first time since the Rauner debacle.
Gas taxes that hadn’t gone up in a long time were raised. It should’ve been a progressive income tax but that is apparently being considered for next year.
Now the state needs to deal with its chronically underfunded state employee pension fund. I really hope they do since that is my father’s sole means of support at 81 (he was a University of Illinois professor for 35 years).
Mike – My best to your father. Do you have any suggestions how to balance the pension fund?
Does anyone in Illinois read the newspapers? The state is going broke.
Gas taxes doubled to support this. Not sure if this is a victory, or headed closer to bankruptcy for Illinois.