Over the weekend, Chicago Metropolis 2020 released “Building Our Economy: Transportation for a New Illinois,” a proposal for creating a statewide network of roads and rails that doesn’t merely move cars, trucks and trains, but that creates long-term jobs and expands Illinois’ economy.
Perhaps the report’s most staggering finding is that Illinois families and businesses spend $100 billion each year on personal and freight transportation. What stuns me is that in most households today, transportation costs are neck and neck with housing costs as the top two expenses. By reducing these costs, families and businesses would free up billions to grow our economy.
The report offers dozens of recommendations, including creating an Illinois Freight Authority; doubling the state gas tax (which has remained stagnant at 19 cents a gallon since 1990) and reserving a portion of new revenue to improve and increase transit service; and expanding the use of tolling and congestion pricing, which gives people the option to drive free in heavy traffic, pay a fee to drive in a less-congested lane, or take transit. MPC’s latest report “The Road Less Traveled: Exploring Congestion Pricing in Chicagoland” modeled how congestion pricing would benefit users of three busy Chicagoland roadways: the Stevenson Expressway (I-55), the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90), and the Kennedy (I-90/94). The data we collected for the Illinois Tollway reinforce Chicago Metropolis 2020’s lesson, that by better managing new highway capacity, the region can curb its congestion problem and generate additional revenue to reinvest into the transportation network. One practical way you can show government leaders we’re ready for big reforms is to participate in Car-Free Day next Wednesday, Sept. 22nd.
Chicago Metropolis 2020’s report came on the heels of President Obama’s Labor Day announcement of his $50 billion vision to improve the nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure. The President’s remarks were the latest evidence that the federal government is moving away from earmarks and toward high-impact transportation investments that achieve national transportation goals, such as strengthening connections between affordable homes and job centers, giving people attractive alternatives to driving everywhere, and reducing emissions. The plan also proposes streamlining operations at the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and creating a national infrastructure bank, which would pool public and private funds to invest in tranformative projects. Early praise for the plan came from our partners at Transportation for America, whose director, James Corless, said the plan “articulated a clear vision for America’s infrastructure that would increase transportation options and improve accountability for federal dollars.”
While the political fate of the President’s plan remains hazy, what is clear is that whenever lawmakers approve a new federal surface transportation bill, it won’t be business as usual. In Illinois, Chicago Metropolis 2020’s report is building the drumbeat of supportive evidence for this new reality. My colleagues and I at MPC look forward to joining forces to achieve many of these policy reforms.