Illinois officials seek $872 million in federal tax funds for Chicago
transportation hub
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[August 04, 2023]
By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Illinois is seeking more than $870 million in
federal taxpayer funding for a railway project that would have its hub
in Chicago and expanded rails to other Midwestern states.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other state and
local officials are seeking the help of federal funding for the Chicago
Hub Improvement Program, a proposed series of projects that will cost
taxpayers about $1.1 billion. The state is seeking a $872.8 million
grant from the Federal Railroad Administration's Federal and State
Partnership Program for the project to make Chicago's Union Station the
central hub for an expanded railway traveling throughout the Midwest.
Pritzker says the Midwest deserves the project and called on federal
officials to release taxpayer funds.
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"The Chicago Hub Improvement Program is an opportunity for new federal
infrastructure funding to catalyze the rail system this region
deserves," Pritzker said. "This proposal would not only make much-needed
improvements to Union Station and existing rail lines throughout
Illinois and into Michigan, it would unlock a vast system of new and
expanded passenger rail services throughout the Midwest, with Chicago's
Union Station serving as the hub."
Pritzker said Illinois is the transportation capital of the United
States.
"We were at the center of the nation's transportation system, in part
because we are the most important rail hub in America," Pritzker said.
"The Chicago Hub Improvement Program is designed to modernize all of
that."
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![Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker during a news conference in Chicago](../images/080423PIX/64cc1a3ad4603.image_small.jpg)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker during a
news conference in Chicago - Illinois.gov
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
Johnson spoke of the impact on the city.
"Chicago is one of the most important railroad hubs in the nation, and
we must continue to strengthen and modernize our transit system," said
Johnson. "So I join the voices calling on the U.S. Department of
Transportation to fund the Chicago Hub Improvement Program, which would
significantly renovate and improve intercity, commuter and freight
railways to be greener, cleaner and more efficient."
The projects aim to expand capacity, eliminate bottlenecks, and improve
air quality, accessibility, reliability and customer experience for more
than 30 million passengers annually and would work towards enhancing
platforms, upgrading the concourse and increasing capacity for both
Amtrak and Metra.
Johnson said the project benefits not only Chicago but the entire
Midwest.
"We are working in concert to bring about the type of transformation
that the people of Chicago, the state of Illinois, the entire region and
this nation needs," Johnson said.
According to a state news release, more than half of all the country's
long-distance rides begin or end at Chicago's Union Station.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/04/images/ads/current/werth_sda_FAIR_2023.png) |