(The following report by Heath Hixson appeared on the Rockford Register Star website on June 30.)
ROCKFORD, Ill. — Regional officials who are backing three separate rail plans indicated this week there is common ground even though the different routes and services appear to conflict.
Publicly, they essentially all say that national Amtrak service and regional commuter rail could coexist in the Rock River Valley.
And these Northern Illinois officials agree the two proposed commuter passenger routes — one from Winnebago County, another from the Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative — that would move people between Chicago and the region should be studied as part of a nearly $3 million analysis of transit options. The study will get under way in August.
“From my standpoint, I do not see it as an either/or thing,” said Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey. “I think there is an opportunity to bring both commuter (rail) and Amtrak to this area.”
But differences in the plans and how best to implement them could affect not just the public willingness of the officials to agree on the best option for the region, but potentially state funding for Amtrak service.
This uncertainty has both Democratic and Republican state lawmakers saying the region needs to come to an agreement to secure state funding.
“On the surface, there appears to be separate camps on which rail service is preferred for Rockford,” said state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, who chairs the Senate’s budget panel that controls transportation funding. “I am going to be closely tracking (U.S.) Senator (Dick) Durbin’s efforts and likely follow his lead.”
Even as the commuter transportation group — which consists of representatives from area government agencies and economic development groups, including Winnebago County — moves forward on the transit analysis, Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen is advancing his own, separate plan.
He maintains that he can bring passenger service to the region within two years on a route from Chicago/Rockford International Airport to Elgin via Davis Junction. And Christiansen said Thursday that he will pitch the route for a restored Amtrak Black Hawk line.
“What we are talking about is not in conflict with (the commuter transportation group),” Christiansen said. “The priority to me has always been the airport. That connection to me makes sense.”
Amtrak executives and area officials are scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. Monday at the airport’s auditorium. The meeting, set up by Durbin, is open to the public.
But the question is whether Christiansen’s southern route proposal, which the Rockford Register Star made public for the first time earlier this month, makes sense matched up against the proposed commuter rail route from Elgin through Boone County and Belvidere to Rockford. The commuter group commissioned a study in 2004 that found the Boone County route is feasible.
That study prompted the transit analysis, which will consider rail, rapid bus and other forms of mass transit. The federal government requires that the commuter group commission a study of all possible modes of transportation and routes to be eligible for future funding.
Christiansen’s proposed route would bypass Boone County on its way to Rockford, instead going through DeKalb County and into southern Winnebago Coun-ty before ending at the airport.
“That is why we have that alternatives analysis. At the end of the process, all of these options will be included in this analysis,” said Belvidere Mayor Fred Brereton. “At the end of this process, we will be able to present to the Federal Transit Administration that this is the locally preferred alternative.”
Members of the commuter group are now negotiating a contract with a consultant to begin the analysis, which will take up to two years to complete.
Christiansen, though, said he feels that length of time is too long to wait. He said he is moving forward with plans to improve freight service to the region and possibly add passenger service. He expects passenger trains by the time the analysis is completed.
Further complicating matters, Christiansen’s plans may conflict with Amtrak supporters, who have suggested a different route be used from Chicago to Rockford. And some area officials are concerned that any Amtrak service may potentially affect funding options for the commuter rail proposals.