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Transportation
PI Original
by Progress Illinois
3:43pm
Thu Jan 22, 2009
4 comments

House Stimulus Includes $1.8 Billion For IL Infrastructure

Stimulus bill

According to a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee report released today, the current version of their stimulus plan includes $1.8 billion for infrastructure investment in Illinois.  Here's the breakdown:

Highways and Bridges: $1,001,675,645
Transit ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
8:12pm
Wed Jan 21, 2009

Report: CTA Most Expensive Transit System In U.S.

Transportation

Chi-Town Daily News spotlights a new report from Citizens Taking Action which found that Chicago public transit users pay more than riders in other America cities.  Their piece quotes a spokesman for the organization saying, "It's tough to advocate the use of public ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
1:58pm
Mon Jan 19, 2009

The Short End Of The Stimulus

Stimulus bill

When the U.S. House rolled out an initial summary of its recovery package last week, transit advocates at the state and national level
were closely monitoring the amount of resources the feds planned to devote
to green transportation initiatives.

Illinois PIRG ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
11:40am
Thu Jan 15, 2009

Can The CTA Retain Its Growing Ridership?

Transportation

For those of us who support expanded public transit, this news from the Chicago Transit Authority should be encouraging: The CTA on Wednesday announced that 2008 combined bus and rail ridership increased by 26.8 million rides, a gain of 5.4 percent over 2007...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
12:44pm
Tue Jan 13, 2009
4 comments

Could Mass Transit Become Private Transit?

Infrastructure

Our friend Chris Hayes at The Nation recently asked a contact at the Chicago Transit Authority whether public transit improvements are likely to be among the "shovel ready" infrastructure projects to receive federal stimulus funds.  The answer is fascinating, ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
11:24am
Mon Jan 12, 2009

Bus Lanes Back On The Table?

Chicago

Chicago’s bus lane proposal may not be dead after all. On Thursday, we noted that the city was forced to forfeit $153 million in federal funds to create 10 miles of special bus service because officials in the U.S. Transportation Department refused to allow more time ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
6:20pm
Thu Jan 8, 2009

Chicago Bus Lanes Go Down

Transportation

In a post yesterday about Mayor Richard Daley’s attempt to secure direct stimulus dollars from the federal government, we mentioned that the city’s inability to provide matching funds could be a major impediment. Today brought news from the Sun-Times that the city already ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
3:15pm
Fri Dec 19, 2008

Obama Officially Taps LaHood For DOT

Transportation

At a press conference in
Chicago this afternoon, President-elect Barack Obama formally announced retiring Rep. Ray LaHood as the next Secretary of Transportation. During his
introduction, Obama said few Americans understand the nation’s
infrastructure challenges better ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
3:47pm
Thu Dec 18, 2008
2 comments

Looking Under LaHood

Ray Lahood

Reactions and additional reporting on Rep. Ray LaHood’s apparent appointment as Barack Obama’s Transportation Secretary keep rolling in. Yesterday we noted his guarded support for rail funding as one potential asset the Peoria legislator could bring to the department. But the ...