Ahead of vote, Quinn urges mayors to back Illiana
Gov. Pat Quinn is urging mayors in communities south of Chicago to support the proposed $1.3 billion Illiana Expressway project, saying it will create jobs.
The policy committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning will vote Thursday on the tollway, which would link Interstate 65 in Indiana and Interstate 55 in Illinois.
An initial vote by the agency's board rejected the expressway, with members calling it a poor use of resources that would do little to create long-term jobs or economic development.
The Southtown Star reports (http://bit.ly/1coZWiK ) that Quinn spoke Monday to about two dozen mayors and state legislators from the area during a meeting in Tinley Park.
The report says Quinn asked them to lobby for the project with members of the policy committee.