10th Dist. hopefuls back Metra's STAR line

Transportation gridlock long has been one of the most common complaints about life in the Chicago area.

Both candidates for the suburban 10th Congressional District seat are concerned about the region's notorious transportation problems and have offered similar solutions.

Republican Robert Dold and Democrat Dan Seals are facing off for the seat and spoke about roads, mass transit and related issues in questionnaires for the Daily Herald.

The 10th District includes parts of Cook and Lake counties. The district's current congressman, Republican Mark Kirk, is running for the Senate, leaving the seat open.

Dold is a first-time candidate from Kenilworth. Seals is a Wilmette resident making his third bid for the House seat.

Both candidates said they support the proposed Metra STAR line that would run through the suburbs. Both also said they back expanding O'Hare International Airport.

"We need a suburb-to-suburb train option," Dold said. "The challenge, of course, is funding such a line. Metra must compete with worthy projects throughout the country, and right now the financial crisis at the state level is a major factor preventing Metra from securing funding from the federal government."

Dold said he has met with members of a municipal conference formed to promote the STAR line and pledged to work with local mayors and state legislators to fund the effort.

Seals called the Star Line a critical project.

"The proposed northwest corridor segment would run right through the 10th District, giving residents much improved access to our major airports and easing the traffic burden," he said.

Seals also favors the creation of high-speed rail lines as a way to grow jobs, get more cars off the road and decrease auto emissions.

Construction of a high-speed rail route between Chicago and St. Louis began this summer.