Not much progress, but there is this development:
[from MHSRA newsletter] "Leaders in the Illinois General Assembly managed to make some significant progress on high-speed rail. Last week Senate Majority Leader Clayborne, D-Belleville, and Representative Ammons, D-Champaign, introduced identical bills in their respective chambers seeking $15 million for a Tier I EIS for a Chicago-East St. Louis/Indianapolis high-speed line. The Tier I EIS is a critical piece of planning work that is needed to design a route, demonstrate a project’s viability and attract federal or private funding. Finding funding for a Tier I EIS for a 220mph demonstration project is the single most important next step in promoting high-speed rail in the region. It is also the logical next step after IDOT released a feasibility study for the corridor in 2013.
The proposed route would connect O’Hare Airport, Chicago Union Station, McCormick Place, Champaign, Decatur, Springfield and East St. Louis. It would also feature a branch to Indianapolis from Champaign. Bills with this much potential aren’t introduced often. Although Illinois lawmakers face a tough fiscal situation in the coming months, there is an opportunity to move the project forward. The upcoming capital bill – which draws on different revenues than the operating budget – will be introduced next spring. "
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
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