Legislation
considered in Springfield and Washington during the coming year may have significant
impacts on local government, State lawmakers face difficult choices while trying
to alleviate the fiscal crises in Illinois. Illinois has not passed an transportation
infrastructure program since the first year of the Ryan administration.
Our state’s critical infrastructure needs have been severely neglected. Our region’s
mobility depends upon passage of a long needed capital bill that properly funds
transportation infrastructure, transit operations and regional planning.
We
believe that the cornerstone of the transportation investment program is sufficient
funding to address the backlog of highways, major arterials, bridges and unmarked
state routes currently in dire need of structural improvements to increase capacity.
A
strategic expansion of the transportation system is needed to address existing
congestion and to serve rapidly growing reverse commute and suburb-to-suburb travel
patterns. We SUPPORT the following strategic expansions:
