Funding secured for Quad Cities - Chicago passenger rail

“Today is a day for celebrating because we have secured funding for our train,” said Moline Mayor Sangeetha Raypati.

At an Oct. 31 press conference, officials announced that $475 million has been allocated in the state’s transit bill for downstate projects, including funding for the Quad Cities–Chicago passenger rail and a portion designated for Peoria. The bill was passed by both the Illinois Senate and House during the veto session.

Key to the effort were Sen. Mike Halpin and Rep. Gregg Johnson, who ultimately led the charge to ensure funding for rail was included in a final transit package.

“The Governor, to the credit of his team, came together with organized labor, leadership in the House and the Senate, and put together a package that is fair to our community – which is why I supported it,” said Halpin. Johnson and Halpin acknowledged and thanked community leaders and Quad Citizens for their support and belief in the project.

Mayor Rayapati said that the efforts of Quad Citizens were noticed by legislators. This week more than 200 Quad Citizens reacted to the QC Chamber’s action alert, collectively sending more than 40,000 emails to the Illinois General Assembly to advocate for the QC–Chicago passenger rail.

In conjunction, members of the Quad Cities Rail Committee, led by Rock Island County Chairman Richard “Quijas” Brunk, traveled multiple times to Springfield to advocate for the project.

Leaders shared that this connection is not only important to the Quad Cities but is good for the entire state. The Rail Committee partnered with Cook County, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and others to advocate for this funding.

“Studies have shown that every dollar spent on rail construction creates ripple effects across the economy, supporting small businesses, creating good paying construction maintenance jobs and laying the groundwork for long-term growth,” said Johnson.

“There's still work to be done, discussions to be had, routes to be determined and so on. But that being said, this legislation brings us to the threshold to make rail service happen,” said Brunk.

“I'm looking forward to the next steps. Our work isn’t done. We need to continue to make sure that the Governor's office and the Department of Transportation take those next steps to obligate this funding, appropriate the funding and take steps to enter into the agreement with Iowa Interstate Railroad - and start that planning to make sure that this construction happens,” said Halpin. “That is going to take time and it's going to take effort.”