7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Group Working on High Speed Rail for Illinois
An eight-state compact is working to get federal stimulus dollars into a Midwest high-speed rail network. Members of the Midwest High Speed Rail Steering Group are hopeful after a round of meetings in Washington Wednesday.

Group chairman Kristi LaFleur, a deputy chief of staff for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, says they want to make a real impression that the Midwest has its act together. She says she was told the Midwest contingent was the first to make a Washington trip, and, she adds, "certainly the only one that has been out here with this show of strength, with all of the partners around the table."

Group members, in a conference call with Midwestern reporters, said the specific applications were not the focus of the Washington meeting. It may be just as well, considering the angst -- and potential Sangamon County lawsuit -- brewing in Springfield over exactly where the tracks and necessary overpasses will go. Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig says things are off to a great start and compares the dissension to the misgivings people had in the 1950s and 1960s when the Interstate highway system was being built.

(Illinois Radio Network)
09 17 09 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.