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Tracks are already being laid on extensions to three Metra lines.
Rehabilitation of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Blue Line Douglas Branch
is 65 percent complete, and agreements are signed to begin work on the Brown
Line. None of these projects would ever have started without the matching state
funds provided in Illinois FIRST. The five-year infrastructure improvement
program expires on June 30, 2004, however, no replacement has been proposed.
With movement at the federal level on a transportation bill — the U.S. Senate
passed its version on Feb. 12 — future transportation projects could be in
jeopardy if Illinois is not ready with a successor to Illinois FIRST when the
final federal bill is approved.
Looking at Illinois FIRST and Beyond, the most recent
in Business Leaders for Transportation’s series assessing the progress of
Illinois FIRST, looks at the program’s accomplishments and weaknesses. The
employers coalition is also prodding state leaders to create a new, improved
program that finally connects transportation and land use.
“We believe there should be a much stronger, consolidated transportation and
land use planning agency with very specific project selection criteria, so that
funds go to areas where they’re most needed and will provide the greatest
benefit,” said George A. Ranney, Jr., president and CEO of Chicago Metropolis
2020, which co-leads Business Leaders for Transportation with the Chicagoland
Chamber of Commerce and Metropolitan Planning Council. “This will require
restructuring the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission and Chicago Area
Transportation Study.”
Over the course of the last federal transportation bill, Illinois received
federal grants for five transit improvements, more than any other state, thanks
to local matching funds provided by Illinois FIRST. In the next round, Illinois
is seeking federal monies for an additional 10 transit projects, which makes it
critical to have a state investment package in place. Those include:
- extension of the CTA Orange Line to Ford City, Red Line to 130th
Street/Stony Island Avenue, and Yellow Line to Old Orchard;
- construction of an Ogden Avenue/Carroll Street streetcar/bus rapid transit
line; and
- construction of Metra’s STAR Line and Southeast Service lines, among
others.
Business Leaders is issuing a challenge that a successor to Illinois FIRST
must reward and encourage transportation decisions that are made within a
regional context, and coordinated with other land use planning. The next package
should define criteria for selecting and evaluating projects. Looking at
Illinois FIRST and Beyond calls for better accountability in a future program,
including publicizing information about how funds are spent as well as
evaluating progress against performance measures, so that taxpayers have a
better understanding of how their dollars are being used.
“Illinois’ new Regional Transportation Task Force offers a tremendous
opportunity to achieve an integrated, coordinated transportation system with the
flexibility to respond to changing needs,” said MarySue Barrett, president of
the Metropolitan Planning Council. “But before the General Assembly enacts a
successor to Illinois FIRST, it must provide a new structure for regional
coordination. Only then can Illinois make tremendous progress in improving its
transportation networks.”
Since the program started in 2000, Illinois FIRST has helped make available
$5.25 billion for transit and $10.5 billion for highway projects, 80 percent of
which was used for maintenance and repair of the existing system. This reflects
a 60 percent increase in transit funding, which Business Leaders for
Transportation praises as a significant accomplishment toward making public
transportation a viable alternative to car travel.
In 2003, Illinois FIRST funds were responsible for:
- overhauling 485 buses and purchasing 484 new Chicago Transit Authority
(CTA) buses;
- rehabilitating 65 percent of the CTA Blue Line Douglas Branch;
- securing federal funding for the construction phase of three Metra
extension projects — north on the North Central line to Antioch, west on the
Union Pacific West line to Elburn in Kane County, and south on the Southwest
line to Manhattan; and
- repairing bridges along the Kennedy and Eisenhower expressways in Cook and
DuPage counties.
“In a weak economy, infrastructure projects like those funded by Illinois
FIRST create jobs and keep things moving,” said Gerald Roper, president and CEO
of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “The program should specifically target
economic development initiatives like the Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Corporation Chicago Logistics Park in Joliet, to name just one, which will
create 8,000 jobs. Projects like this are critical to the economic health of our
state and help stem the loss of jobs in Illinois. This will require the same
quality of strategic regional planning that we see in the business sector.”
Business Leaders for Transportation, a coalition of nearly 180
members representing more than 12,000 regional employers, provides a collective
voice for Chicago-area businesses on surface transportation issues. Of central
importance to the coalition is increased state and federal transportation
funding for northeastern Illinois, supported by coordinated planning to achieve
the most efficient and desirable return on transportation system investments.