One of a series to discuss transportation funding vital to area businesses
U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s (R-14th District) announcement last week of
a possible $275 billion transportation package — a drastic reduction from a $375
billion original figure and the Senate’s $318 proposal — is motivating local
leaders to make a final push for fair funding for Illinois. Business Leaders for
Transportation is seizing Congress’s extension of TEA-21 until April 30 as an
opportunity to strengthen the surface transportation bill. The group is hosting
a second series of forums to bring together business leaders and their
congressional representatives to push for improvements the Chicago region needs
to remain a healthy place to do business.
On Monday, March 29, 2004, at the Hyatt Deerfield,
U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-10th District) will speak at the first in a 2004 series
of forums with members of Congress to address transportation issues important
to the local business community. Other speakers will be Kristin Coleman of the
Brunswick Corporation, Gerald Roper of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and
Dick Smith of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). William Baltutis
of the Lake-Cook Transportation Management Association (TMA), will moderate. The
series is sponsored by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, and Monday’s forum
is co-hosted by the Buffalo Grove Area Chamber of Commerce, Greater Lincolnshire
Chamber of Commerce, Lake County Partners, and Lake-Cook TMA.
The
forum follows a series of events throughout the region in late 2003 that brought
together congressmen and local leaders with more than 500 concerned
constituents.
“The
TEA-21 extension provides a critical opportunity for Illinois’ business
community to press their representatives for a real commitment to the transit,
road, and freight investments that will make their operations more efficient,”
said MarySue Barrett, president of Metropolitan Planning Council, which co-leads
Business Leaders with Chicago Metropolis 2020 and the Chicagoland Chamber of
Commerce. “It should also spur state leaders to action. Given the lower federal
numbers, it is time to tackle how we will accomplish the projects Illinois needs
by getting moving on a new state infrastructure package that better coordinates
transportation with land use goals.”
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.
WHAT
Public forum on federal transportation funding
WHEN
Monday, March 29, 2004, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
WHERE
Hyatt Deerfield, 1750 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, Ill.
WHO
- U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-10th District)
- Kristin Coleman, Associate General Counsel, Brunswick
Corporation
- Gerald Roper, President and CEO, Chicagoland Chamber
of Commerce
- Dick Smith, Director of Planning & Programming,
IDOT
- William Baltutis, Executive Director, Lake-Cook TMA
(moderator)
The forum is free to members of the working media, but
pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, contact
Karyn Romano
at
312.863.6005.