(Reported in the Daily Herald Inc. on June 27, 2008)
SPRINGFIELD, IL – A group of Amtrak supporters is criticizing Governor Rod Blagojevich’s proposal to cut the state’s support of passenger train service at a time when high gas prices are on nearly everyone’s minds.
Ross Capon of the National Association of Railroad Passengers is sarcastically calling the proposed funding cuts a great way to respond to $4-a-gallon gasoline.
Among $1.5 billion in budget reductions proposed by Blagojevich on Tuesday is the elimination of $28 million for train routes to and from Chicago at points throughout the state.
If the state decided to eliminate its Amtrak contract, trains between Chicago and St. Louis, and Chicago Carbondale would be cut.
The number of riders on the lines is up in the last year, a fact Capon says makes any threats to cut Amtrak service ill-timed.