High-speed rail will help all of Illinois

Governor Pat Quinn showed vision when he called for "super fast" rail service in his State of the State address. What exactly does "super fast" mean? We're talking less than two hours to St. Louis and just 43 minutes to Champaign from Chicago by train (yes, you read right, by train).

And we're talking about a true shot in the arm for our state.

A study just released by the Midwest High Speed Rail Association estimates a 220 mph rail link from Chicago to St. Louis via Champaign would create 40,000 jobs, grow Downstate economies along the line by one to three percent a year, and take almost 200 million pounds of CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere annually. What other project can do that?

The rest of the world and states like California and Florida are already embracing this technology. Illinois and the broader region cannot afford to be left behind.

The Chicago-St. Louis line would be the first step in creating a Midwest network that would put 25 million people in 20 Midwest metro areas within three hours of Chicago, changing journeys into commutes and greatly increasing productivity and global competitiveness.

Faced with severe budget shortfalls and the loss of the Olympics, Chicago and Illinois are in need of a transformative project that secures our economic future. This 220 mph high-speed rail is that project.

Rick Harnish

Executive Director

Midwest High Speed Rail Association

Chicago