For Immediate Release
May 15, 2009
HAMOS ANNOUNCES PROPOSED $11 BILLION FOR INCREASE MASS TRANSPORTATION FUNDING IN THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA
CTA and Metra to receive most of the funds; adjustment made to fund allocation system.
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS – Illinois Representative Julie Hamos from the 18th District and the chairman of the House Mass Transit Committee, today proposed House Bill 1234, a 5 year, $11 billion Transportation Allocation Act. The bill had already passed committee and now heads to the House Floor for a vote next week.
“This proposal is long overdue. The state has not a capital infrastructure investment in over a decade and will positively impact the lives of millions of Illinoisans,” said Aaron Basch, Legal Counsel for the Regional Transportation Authority. “HB 1234 is a giant step forwards in renovating our crumbling mass transportation system and improving the process with which those funds are implemented.”
Funding for projects in the Chicago Area include:
• CTA Track Replacement
• CTA Station Renovation
• Modernization of METRA Ticketing
• Purchase of Hybrid Buses for the CTA and PACE
• Expansion of CTA Rail Lines
• Increased Service Capacity
• Funding of Proposed Olympic Improvements
Additionally the Act is intended to give more control to regional planning organizations and local governments in proposing, adopting, and implementing transportation capital improvement projects.
“These adjustments to the means of allocation allow for a more efficient and effective way to disperse funds to worthy projects,” stated Rep. Hamos. “I look forward to working with local governments and the RTA in committing to Chicago mass transit.”
