July 03, 2017

At CTA Control Center, Duckworth Outlines Trump Budget’s Disastrous Impact on Chicago Infrastructure

 

CHICAGO, IL - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) toured the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Control Center, underscoring the importance of federal funding for transit capital projects that face elimination under the President's proposed budget. Transit officials at the CTA Control Center monitor and regulate the agency's eight rail lines, 145 rail stations and 130 bus routes that millions of commuters rely on daily.

"Infrastructure improvements are essential to the strength of our local economy and future vitality, which is why the President's extreme budget proposal that would eliminate all future federal funding for transit capital investments is so troubling," said Senator Duckworth. "The CTA Red and Purple Modernization Program and the Red Line Extension Project are in jeopardy under this proposal. Divesting in transportation projects would kill Illinois jobs, stall transit access progress and harm safety improvements."

The Trump Administration has further threatened Illinois infrastructure after announcing the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will hold funding for the fiscal year 2017 FASTLANE grants large project awardees and call for new and separate applications with "updated" criteria.Senator Duckworth joined Senator Durbin in calling on President Trump to fully fund the grants that include CREATE's 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project in Chicago and Merchants Railroad Bridge Project in the St. Louis region.

As a member of two Senate committees with jurisdiction over our nation's transportation systems and infrastructure projects, Duckworth has been a vocal advocate for infrastructure investments and for upgrading our public transit system, which creates good-paying jobs in Illinois. Duckworth attended the groundbreaking of a new rail car facility in Chicago that has committed to hiring 170 workers to assemble 400 new rail cars by 2020 for the Chicago Transit Authority. In February, Duckworth hosted a roundtable with a number of elected officials, local leaders and officials representinglocal and regional transportation agencies around Chicagoland to discuss her efforts to ensure Illinois receives adequate funding from the federal government to rebuild and modernize state infrastructure and transportation systems.

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