Transportation bill a win for Illinois

The Transportation for Illinois Coalition is proud to acknowledge Congress finally provided a longer-term transportation spending plan for our state and nation, while also streamlining bureaucratic hurdles that have often delayed progress. We thank U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin for his perseverance and leadership to make it happen, as well as the 17 members of the Illinois House delegation who supported the bill.

Our coalition of business, civic, labor and construction groups has worked for more than a decade to focus public and policymaker attention on the enormous need for infrastructure improvements. As our roads, bridges and transit systems decay, that investment is all the more critical.

The plan approved recently by Congress finally brings some certainty after multiple short-term extensions of the law that expired in 2009. For the next two-plus years, 68,000 people in Illinois will keep or have new jobs.

Sen. Durbin deserves credit for working through the partisan differences to ensure a compromise that provides long-overdue good news for our industries, communities and the economy. By putting more people to work on good jobs repairing transportation systems and moving the economy, we all win.

There remains a lot more to do to get where we need to be, in Springfield and Washington, but we are hopeful this progress can continue as we pursue job growth and a stronger economy for the nation and Illinois.

Doug Whitley

Mike Kleinik

Co-chairs, Transportation for Illinois Coalition