(The following Associated Press article was published in the 1-2-03 online issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)
CHICAGO – Illinois Gov.-elect Rod Blagojevich plans to add a whistle-stop train ride to his inauguration festivities.
Blagojevich will make the 200-mile journey from Chicago to Springfield by railroad, stopping several times along the way to meet with crowds.
“This will be a reminder of exactly who it is I plan to fight for as governor,” Blagojevich said Thursday. “My administration will work to bring change to state government and to positively impact the lives of people all across the state, who live in cities and towns of all sizes.”
The train is expected to leave Chicago’s Union Station about 9:45 a.m. Jan. 11 and is scheduled to stop in Joliet, Dwight and Bloomington before arriving in Springfield in the early evening.
Each stop is scheduled to last about an hour. Rallies are to be held in Joliet and Bloomington. Blagojevich is scheduled to greet residents along Main Street in Dwight.
The train will consist of three cars and will run between regular Amtrak routes and other commercial rail traffic.
The whistle-stop tour is part of inaugural festivities expected to cost about $1.5 million. An admission-free, family-oriented barbecue at the Illinois State Fairgrounds is to be held Jan. 12, with the inauguration and formal ball scheduled for Jan. 13.
All events are being funded privately by Blagojevich, who has been soliciting donations from law firms, businesses, unions and others.
SBC Illinois, a telephone company, is giving $100,000, as are a handful of other companies. The Service Employees International Union and the powerful law firm of Sidley Austin Brown and Wood have each pledged $25,000.
Other contributors include the insurance company Aon Corp., AT&T Corp., Boeing Co., Walgreen Co. and Sears, Roebuck and Co., with donations ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 each.