Archive for February 25th, 2009
February 25th, 2009
The stimulus bill may be bringing up to $2 billion in high speed rail funding to Chicago, it says here:
Chicago is the nation’s rail hub, and there’s been a plan in place for a decade or more to make the Windy City the center of a high speed rail network with destinations to Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Detroit, Cincinnati and Cleveland. When I say high speed rail, I don’t expect anything out of Chicago to be true, a Euro-style train that goes 200 mph. We’ll be lucky if it makes 109 mph., the top speed of the old Gulf, Mobile & Ohio’s “Abraham Lincoln” and “Midnight Special” trains from Chicago to St. Louis in the 1950s and 1960s.
Of course, ROCKFORD is NOT included in this high speed rail network, something that Mayor Larry Morrissey used to rail against a long, long time ago.
Meanwhile, Republicans like Louisiana Gov.Bobby Jindal continue to LIE about the high speed rail funding, saying it is for an $8 billion mag-lev train from Disneyland to ‘Vegas to benefit Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. WRONG. There’s nothing specific in the stimulus plan designating Vegas and Anaheim.
Indeed, with Obama, chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel from Chicago and Transport Secretary Ray LaHood from Peoria, this could be a the time for rail revival in the Midwest. Rockford had better get moving on this one, or we’ll lose out, the way we usually do.
California is also expected to benefit from the stimulus plan, but not the Vegas route. California voters in November passed a $9 billion tax for a Euro-style 200 mph. rail network linking San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, LA and San Diego, Bakersfield, Fresno, and other cities. To see more, click this:
February 25th, 2009
The Rock Valley College Board defeated a proposed tuition increase Tuesday night on a 4-3 vote.
The proposal would have increased tuition $5 per credit hour. Currently it’s $66 per credit hour, with a $5 per hour student fee,or $71 per hour. For a full load, or 30 hours, that’s $2,280. Altogether, the college would have gotten $800,000 if the increase had been approved.
Board President Ted Biondo said the college has a $2 million surplus and this is no time to raise tuition on cash-strapped students, many of whom are working two jobs and don’t qualify for low income Pell grants.
“Community colleges are supposed to be accessible and affordable,” Biondo said.
February 25th, 2009
Update on last post:
Rich Carter of Congressman Don Manzullo’s office tells me that RFD will get $300,000 for its aerospace education building (see previous post) from the appropriations bill currently in Congress.
February 25th, 2009
Just checked in with Bob O’Brien, executive director of Chicago Rockford International Airport. Bob is upbeat about the airport’s chances of getting substantial money from President Obama’s stimulus bill.
“I’m led to believe we’ll do well,” he said, indicating that the airport might receive from $5 million to $10 million for a variety of projects: Rebuilding the deteriorated Falcon Road on the east side of the airport; rebuilding a taxiway and constructing an “aerospace and alternative energy education research and development building,” which is a mouthful. Call it ERD for short.
O’Brien says the airport has now had 10,000 entries to its contest to guess the new destinations of a new passenger carrier that is coming soon to the airport. Winners get some free tickets either to the new destinations or to Cancun.
Despite the economic slump, there is good news for airlines, both passenger and freight: “Jet A” airplane fuel is reasonably priced again.
“Jet A is about $2.50 a gallon right now,” O’Brien said. Last year, when the airport launched Southern Skyways service to Denver, fuel was going for $3.50, but it quickly spiked to $5. That was too high to make money, the service quickly had to be scuttled.
The stars may be aligned for Rockford’s airport. President Obama is intimately familiar with the airport’s needs, as are RFD’s chief political cloutmeisters, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, the majority whip, and U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan.
When he was a senator, Obama met with O’Brien and airport board Chairman Mike Dunn at Cliffbreakers. Also, former congressman Ray LaHood of Peoria is the secretary of transportation. He knows O’Brien from the days Bob managed the Springfield airport, which was partially in LaHood’s district. And RFD has developed an excellent reputation with the FAA leadership.
“We are very blessed to have Illinois-friendly leaders in Washington,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien also said he is hopeful the new airline will announce its destinations in the next couple of weeks.
February 25th, 2009
Tom Strickland, who upset Linda Vaughn for Machesney Park president (It’s also kosher to use “mayor,”) says he wants to move the MP primary election to November.
Uh, Tom, no can do. The state of Illinois determines when elections are held. Nice try, though.
