Calendar

May 2013
S M T W T F S
« Apr    
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  

Comments

  • child safety seat in texas: Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I’ve...
  • Dennis in Peoria: According to May 16th PJS, Jim Richerson is out as PRM CEO, with Debbie Ritschel named interim CEO....
  • fashion: This is the right weblog for anybody who desires to find out about this topic. You understand so much its...
  • shops: I? need to examine with you here. Which isn’t something I often do! I get pleasure from studying a...
  • fashion: There are some fascinating points in time on this article however I don? know if I see all of them middle to...
  • 50+Peorian: Anyone know what Doug Oberhelman’s dog is named? I was told it is Dozer. Yep, he named the stadium...
  • Imagine: Imagine, this hotel being recently purchased. New investors & owners doing an extensive 5 million dollar...
  • J: People like MBD can cry about consolidation all they want. There’s no doubt that Peoria would have had an...
  • AnneC: And even MORE not-so-shocking news: http://cinewsnow.mlnwap.com/ar ticle.html#!/76660/3d5b84a0...
  • mbd: this isnt just happening in peoria either.
  • mbd: You do realize that this are privately owned companies right? They exist to make money. Local tv stations are...
  • concerned citizen: Joe Dulin is a liar. unfortunately, code enforcement for profit already exists. Property owners in...
  • ProudPeorian: A little “Rock Island Rocket” history for the masses. http://csanders429.wordpres...
  • ProudPeorian: Sorry for the typoes in my previous proclamation…Peoria and its surrounds (communities) are short...
  • ProudPeorian: Forget Bloomington/Normal. Remember the awesome days of the Rock Island Rocket.I know thats it’s...

Replay: Why train service needs to be to Chicago, not Normal

Speaking of bad ideas, a recent Word on the Street article says that local officials are still pursuing the foolhardy idea of getting a commuter train to Bloomington instead of a direct Amtrak route to Chicago. Rather than re-explain in different words why this is such a bad idea, I’m just going to reprint [...]

Passenger Rail or Eastern Bypass?

Of course the title of this post need not be an either/or question. But I pose the question that way because I want to draw some contrasts between the two projects.

Peoria currently has four automobile bridges across the Illinois River (McClugage, Murray Baker, Bob Michel, and Cedar Street). Peoria does not currently have [...]

Hey, Tri-County Regional Planning Commission: Get together behind Peoria to Chicago direct rail service

Here we go again. The old Peoria-to-Bloomington commuter train idea is apparently still on the table over at the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission. Let’s go over this again:

Nobody wants to take a train to Bloomington. The only reason anyone would ever take a train to Bloomington is to continue on to Chicago or [...]

Direct passenger rail route to Chicago denied; Peorians told to ride the bus

Right about the time I stopped blogging last year, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) released its “Feasibility Report of Proposed Amtrak Service” between Chicago and Peoria. So I’m five months late with my analysis. But then, IDOT was about three years late releasing the study.

All you need to read to know that [...]

Peoria’s peculiar priorities

The City has set its “top” and “high” strategic priorities at its latest planning session, reports the Journal Star:

Of 27 possibilities, the council labeled only six policy priorities as “top” priorities for 2011-12. Those included focusing on code enforcement performance and direction, developing a school strategy and action plan, focusing on short-term shared [...]

Quick comments on the news

Scanning over the Journal Star this morning, there are several interesting articles:

Transportation Symposium — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had some words of wisdom for Peoria about the possibility of getting passenger rail service: “Get your act together…. Get your priorities. Put them on a list. Agree on them,” he said. “Make sure your [...]

Amtrak study for Peoria delayed another year

Since 2007, Amtrak and the Illinois Department of Transportation have been studying the feasibility of reestablishing a Peoria-Chicago passenger rail route, but completion of the study has been delayed multiple times. IDOT Bureau Chief of Railroads George Weber now estimates the report will be released in late summer or early fall of 2011.

[...]

Passenger Rail task force members include former Peoria mayor

Richard Neumiller, former mayor of Peoria and member of the now defunct railroad commission, is on a new passenger rail task force put together by the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC). Neumiller was appointed by Mayor Jim Ardis to represent Peoria on the task force. Here is the full list of task force members, [...]

Rail link to Bloomington will doom rail service for Central Illinois

The Journal Star reports (no link — it’s a “First in Print” article) that a new passenger rail advisory group has been formed:

A 21-member committee formed of local government officials and appointees from the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, it set priorities in its first couple of meetings. In the long run, the goal [...]

Help bring passenger rail back to Peoria

As you may have read in today’s Journal Star, I’ve started a grassroots organization for the purpose of advocating for passenger rail service between Peoria and Chicago. It’s called the Peoria Passenger Rail Coalition, and it’s free to join.

I talk to a lot of people who would like to have train service [...]