Amtrak Cuts to Trains Serving Downstate Illinois Only (Chicago, Aurora: transplants, budget)

[Drover]

How did the state get a say in a federally administered train service anyway?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Drover

How did the state get a say in a federally administered train service anyway?

I think the state provides supplemental money for extra trains. I could be wrong though.

[Drover]

Looks that way... so I guess these extra routes are completely dependent on subsidies from Illinois, and that Amtrak could maintain them if they wanted to but probably won't without the state's money. And as someone said, this appears to be a naked attempt to get more tax dollars since Hair-Helmet acknowledges that ridership is up on these lines. Looks like another Doomsday scenario.

[illini84]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Yeah, I wonder if the OP actually read the article or just saw Mattoon and went into a hissy.

The article says: "Gov. Rod Blagojevich...proposed eliminating a majority of Amtrak trains that serve key downstate cities..."

Maybe I'm interpreting it incorrectly, but it sounds like the downstate cities are the ones taking the service hits...

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by illini84

The article says: "Gov. Rod Blagojevich...proposed eliminating a majority of Amtrak trains that serve key downstate cities..."

Maybe I'm interpreting it incorrectly, but it sounds like the downstate cities are the ones taking the service hits...

Well they all serve Chicago also. If you live in Chicago area and travel downstate and to St. Louis it will hurt you just as much.

[Jons99]

Originally Posted by illini84

The article says: "Gov. Rod Blagojevich...proposed eliminating a majority of Amtrak trains that serve key downstate cities..."

Maybe I'm interpreting it incorrectly, but it sounds like the downstate cities are the ones taking the service hits...

Because its in a downstate newspaper, they are writing it for their readers..

[joee]

The good ol texas train won't be touched, that's the one the runs thru springfield to chicago, jump on one friday going north then go south on sun, it's their political train, i rode it for a long time i saw it every weekend.

[j33]

Originally Posted by illini84

I can see why he gets re-elected. He gives Chicago everything its people want and makes everyone else suffer budget cuts and reduced amenities. Even if all the non-Chicagoans voted against Blago, we would still be outnumbered. It's just a lost cause.

Nonsense. As a Chicagoans, he's screwed us over too. I may have voted for him the first time, but I sure as hell didn't the second time. I'd like nothing better than for him to be as far away from Chicago and Springfield as possible, as soon as possible. I'll never forgive his behavior during the CTA debacle.

[jdoll]

Originally Posted by illini84

I can see why he gets re-elected. He gives Chicago everything its people want and makes everyone else suffer budget cuts and reduced amenities. Even if all the non-Chicagoans voted against Blago, we would still be outnumbered. It's just a lost cause.

Sorry to break your bubble Illini84, but remove tax the income from the six counties that compromise the Chicagoland area and the two IL counties in Metro St Louis and you'll find the remaining 94 counties die from lack of tax dollars.

Rural IL has always been financed by the other, more populated counties. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but it has always been a fact of how IL funds it's state budget.

And before I get blasted from either side, check the state revenue figures. Plus I 've lived more years in rural IL than I've lived in a collar county and seen/heard both side of this argument.

[Alexva]

Originally Posted by jessiegirl_98

They always threaten to cut service to Quincy (that's where I'm from) and never have, they actually added a second train a few years ago. Let's hope that doesn't happen (this is also the train that goes through Macomb and Western)

Cut Amtrak to Quincy??! That would suck. I just moved to Quincy and have been looking forward to using the Chicago-Quincy Amtrak route. I was rather hoping the route would get extended to pass through Quincy to either KC or St Louis, opening up more options for train travel.