(The following story by Mike Riopell appeared on the Bloomington Pantagraph website on July 9.)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Despite an earlier threat, Gov. Rod Blagojevich didn’t cut significant portions of the state’s Amtrak service Wednesday
Previously, Blagojevich targeted a majority of the trains running between St. Louis and Chicago, as well as Carbondale and Chicago, as a way of fixing a budget that he said was more than $2 billion out of balance.
The $28 million cut would have eliminated a majority of the Amtrak trains running through Bloomington-Normal, Dwight, Pontiac, Lincoln, Carbondale and Mattoon.
The governor took heat for calling for train cuts at a time when drivers are paying more than $4 for a gallon of gasoline. For that reason, in part, Blagojevich backed off his Amtrak threat.
“The ridership has increased tremendously,” said Blagojevich budget spokeswoman Kelley Quinn. “People need to get from point A to point B.”
Despite Amtrak’s sparing, the governor made $1.4 billion in other cuts throughout state government, saying that lawmakers had to come up with more money to balance the state budget. Not included in Blagojevich’s specific cuts announced Wednesday was funding for any prisons, including Pontiac Correctional Center.
State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said the various service cuts announced Wednesday would hurt, but that sparing Amtrak was a good idea.
“I’m glad for that,” he said.