State employees would help fund new Amtrak routes, supporters say
Thursday, March 30, 2006
SPRINGFIELD - Supporters of legislation to add five Amtrak round-trips between Chicago and downstate Illinois stressed how the $35 million package would benefit taxpayers."It will save money for the state in that we can have state employees taking the train instead of more expensive air transportation," said Republican state Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont, a candidate for treasurer.
However, although the bill would increase the amount Illinois pays Amtrak by $22.9 million, it would not require state employees to ride the train.
"I don't think we would need to legislate it because common sense and the desire to take the most economical course would drive those decisions," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, D-Evanston. "If you add the trains, they will come."
At present the state pays $12.1 million for Amtrak service. The bill would pay for two additional round-trips along the route between Chicago and St. Louis, which includes stops in Lincoln and Springfield.
The proposed legislation also would fund one extra round-trip along the Chicago-to-Carbondale route and another round-trip between Chicago and Quincy, which includes a stop in Galesburg.
In February, the auditor general's office released a state employee travel study. The report stated that $29 million was reimbursed to state employees for intrastate travel in fiscal year 2005.
Agencies estimated only 12 percent of the travel was done on Amtrak. About two-thirds of the travel was by vehicle, and 18 percent was done through state or commercial air service.
In the auditor general's report, 58 percent of the 277 state employees surveyed said they don't use Amtrak because of inconvenient schedules.
The Travel Regulation Council, established by the State Finance Act, requires that "all travel shall be by the most economical mode of transportation available considering travel time, costs and work requirements."
Senate Bill 2848 has not yet passed either chamber, but 47 senators and 97 representatives have signed on to support it. For it to pass the legislature, it would need 30 votes in the Senate and 61 in the House.
If it passes the General Assembly, the legislation would then have to be signed by the governor before it becomes law. It's not clear whether Gov. Rod Blagojevich would approve of using the state's checkbook, the General Revenue Fund, to pay for more Amtrak trips.
"These are GRF dollars that you're talking about," said Matt Vanover, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation. "GRF dollars are very competitive right now because you're talking about public safety, education, health care. ... These GRF dollars are very, very tight."
When asked if Blagojevich would ride Amtrak if the extra trips between Chicago and Springfield were implemented, Vanover replied: "Is this a serious question?"
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