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* I like Amtrak. I rode it often when I lived in Chicago and commuted to Springfield for session. Higher speeds are something I definitely support. But we flew in the US Transportation Secretary for a fifteen minute highish-speed ride? C’mon, man…
Touting high-speed rail as the future of passenger rail, Amtrak on Friday led a test ride at 110 mph between Dwight and Pontiac on the agency’s Chicago to St. Louis route.
About 11:45 a.m., U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Gov. Pat Quinn held on tightly as the speedometer screen peaked at 111 mph.
The 15-mile demonstration lasted for just a couple of minutes as the train approached Dwight, but the ride became increasingly bumpy. Normal speed in the area is 79 mph. […]
“This is only the beginning,” LaHood said. “By 2015, 110 mph service will be expanded throughout nearly 75 percent of the corridor.”
Also, with the pending closure of the Dwight prison, they ought to seriously consider shutting down that stop. Pontiac isn’t far away. Passengers can board there.
And furthermore, it would help if the trains left the station on time. A friend took a train from Chicago to Springfield last night which left Chicago almost two hours late. Even if they get the train speeds up to 250 mph (which they won’t), a two-hour delay kills all that progress.
* Jason Plummer ran for lt. governor in 2010 and is now running for Congress and still didn’t pay his property taxes on time? Dude, you’re a millionaire. Don’t you have people for that?…
One issue that won’t go away in Illinois’ 12th congressional race: taxes.
Democrats have blasted Republican lumber heir Jason Plummer for not releasing his tax returns. Now comes news that Plummer has paid property taxes late on his home in Edwardsville, which is outside the district he’s running to represent. Records show Plummer paid the taxes late for tax years 2011 and 2009, according to Madison County property records.
The taxes are about $5,500 per year, which Plummer has paid in installments. He was billed minimal penalties for the late payments, but has brought everything current.
Look, stuff happens. People get busy. Bills get lost. Some folks don’t have the money to pay their taxes on time. But most people aren’t running for high-level office.
C’mon, man!
* Speaking of Plummer, I don’t really have much of a problem with paid, professional video trackers, but do they really have to try and incite their targets? They shouldn’t be stalker paparazzi…
C’mon, Dems! This ain’t Los Angeles.
* C’mon, um, Toni…
Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios may be under fire, but he’s still got a friend in a fellow Democrat, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
As the Sun-Times first reported in Tuesday’s paper, Berrios is thumbing his nose at a subpoena issued by the county’s top watchdog seeking documents about an employee under investigation for misconduct.
He’s also ignored an ethics board recommendation to fire three relatives on his payroll as well as a $10,000 fine the panel issued for violating the ethics policy by hiring his son and sister. His daughter was already on the payroll when he was elected in 2010. […]
“I think Joe has done a good job of running his office,” she said.
* The Illinois Review triumphantly claims it sparked a look at whether President Obama might lose Illinois…
Two weeks ago, MSM pundits rolled their eyes when IR pointed to an Illinois political consultant speculating that Obama could lose Illinois on November 6. With the Romney campaign putting a minimal amount of resources into Illinois, the likelihood of an Illinois victory seemed ludicrous. Now the national conservative source Daily Caller is adding to the “Obama could lose Illinois” chorus Bruce Donnelly started last week on IR
Trouble is, the IR’s link today was to a story published on August 20th, well before that IR story was published. And that initial IR story wasn’t published “last week.” It was published on September 29th.
There must be some sort of serious space-time continuum problem at the IR these days.
C’mon, Einstein!
* Your turn.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 1:31 pm
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Not carrying Illinois would be quite the embarrassment.
We could have had a President Gore in 2000 if he had carried his home state.
Comment by Hoppy Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 1:45 pm
===Not carrying Illinois would be quite the embarrassment.===
C’mon, man. Not gonna happen.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 1:46 pm
===We could have had a President Gore in 2000 if he had carried his home state.===
What are you talking about? Gore won the District of Columbia.
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 1:52 pm
C’mon ComEd.
Instead of delivering reliabile electricity, as it is supposed to do, ComEd has been busy making iphone apps and games, ghostwriting a letter to the editor, fighting against ICC ordered refunds to customers, and now holding a pumpkin carving contest.
http://click.oo155.com/LPPreview.aspx?Content=html&LandingPageID=90&AccountID=3948&utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=A+Halloween+”Tip+or+Treat”+from+ComEd&utm_content=Contest+rules
C’mon ComEd, do your job!
Comment by SportShoz Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:03 pm
Dear Kevin Artl,
Hide Tom Cross’ golf clubs.
At least help him look … interested … in what happens on Election Day.
Dear Dan Rutherford,
Well done! Yopu have stayed out of the crossfire, and yet been helping in races, all the while helping yourself. you have done it without looking like a self-serving “politician” only looking out for Dan Rutherford. Hope your hard political work pays off.
Dear Jason Plummer,
Buddy …seriously … Rich has it right, ‘C’mon Man!” … Pay your utilities, pay your property taxes, vehicle stickers, licence plates … show you are smarter than I seem to make you out to be … for once.
Dear Tammy Duckworth,
It IS slipping away … don’t be fooled that it’s not. I have no clue how your race is going to end but I am so enjoying the pure politcial theatre that IS Joe Walsh, and if you and your STAFF were doing your jobs in this race, it shouldn’t be.
Dear Joe Walsh,
Gotta finsh this thing off. Do not make the mistake of Melissa Bean and have the worst last week of an election, and a non-existent election day. Your two races were MADE for the people who watch, study, and learn about the campaign-political process. Like I wrote Tammy above, I dunno how your race is going to end, but keep me entertained with the best political theatre of the Cycle.
Dear Christine Radogono,
I give you a hard time often and many times make a point I think you are missing in action.
You have 2 plus weeks to do one important thing …get all the resources you have to races you know have the BEST chances to win and get them over the finish line.
Yeah, it’s sounds so simple, but focus and do it anyway. Make your commitments… and follow through.
To all I wrote to above, snarky or not ….
With kindest personal regards, I remain.
Sincerely yours,
Oswego Willy
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:03 pm
This just in from the IR: Dewey Defeats Truman.
They got it second, but still they’re out in front.
I can’t remember who got the original scoop.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:04 pm
High speed rail works in heavily populated corridors. Running thru the cornfields of Illinois is a waste of money. =By 2015, 110 mph service will be expanded throughout nearly 75 percent of the corridor.”= That last segment from Alton to downtown St. Louis should take about 45 minutes. Like building and Interstate and having the last miles in Chicago and St. Louis revert to 2 lanes with stop lights and stop signs.
Comment by Downstater Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:04 pm
High(er) speed rail like this is a near total waste of money. They say Chicago to St. Louis will be 4 hours (if on time). One can drive it in a little over 5 hours. Just think of what actual good that money could have done for the CTA & Metra!!…this is just more misplaced priorities.
Comment by Suburbs Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:07 pm
Actually I think the transportation secretary’s visit in this case was completely appropriate. This is the first of the express passenger rail projects from the stimulus to actually see the light of day; it’s also the first 100mph+ service we’ve seen away from the East Coast since the 1950s, when Congress’s 79mph limit for conventional rail — intended to encourage railroads to upgrade high-speed services to positive train control — backfired and had the effect of encouraging railroads to slow down and save money.
So yes, this is a big deal. And hopefully the blueprint for future upgrades of our national rail network, for both passenger and freight.
By the way Hilkevitch’s otherwise good article in the Tribune was kind of muddled when foreseeing the future on this route; the $4 billion total price tag would include double-tracking the line and enabling both tracks to be used in either direction, essential for properly coordinating 110mph passenger trains with 700mph freights at a reasonable level of service.
Comment by Angry Chicagoan Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:08 pm
If a candidate skips a forum without a good reason, s/he’s got to expect that this kind of video can be made.
I suppose a candidate can respond with….
1. If you give me your card, I’ll have my press secretary contact you with a formal statement.
2. I already made a press release on this. It’s on my website. Have you read it?
If a candidate skips a forum then there’s a good chance the other side is going to try to make a video like this. This is especially true if the candidate has a reputation of being… poor at thinking on his feet.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:19 pm
Speaking of Obama losing Illinois…
Did you see the largest paper in Utah just endorsed Obama over Romney?
Hehe
Comment by Carl Nyberg Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:21 pm
Sportz and I agree that ComEd is a joke. We give them mostly what they asked for in the smart grid bill and now it isn’t enough for them. Screw ‘em. I hope the munis in Northern IL tell ‘em to stick it with community aggregation via another power supplier.
High speed rail between Milwaukee-Chicago-St. Louis makes alot of sense. Try getting to St. Louis from Chicago in five hours during rush hours.. Not gonna happen…
Comment by Anonymous45 Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:28 pm
While the reminder regarding Plummer’s tax bill is probably appreciated, it shouldn’t do any harm.
From what I remember Ellen (10th District) tried to break a story regarding Kirk’s property tax situation while he was running (which included a late bill and some questions regarding the rate he was paying), and it fell upon deaf ears as far as the media were concerned.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:44 pm
Obama lose Illinois? You’ll get better odds buying a lottery ticket.
Comment by Anon III Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 2:45 pm
=”700mph freights”= Awesome!
Comment by Crime Fighter Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 3:03 pm
How many millions of dollars went into that rail line improvement (that also benefits the freight companies), but how many miles of there at the CTA in a slow zone? How many structurally deficient bridges are there? How many underpasses are needed in the suburbs?
Is this really the right way to spend precious few resources?
Comment by Just Me Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 3:32 pm
I was on the train last night. We were due into Springfield at 10:24 we arrived at midnight. Technical enhancements cannot repair management decisions and the cross traffic out of Chicago. This will go on regardless of how many billions we spend on equipment. Very frustrating!
Comment by Professor Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 3:55 pm
Perhaps it would have been cheaper to just increase the speed limit.
Comment by Michelle Flaherty Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 4:02 pm
Amtrak a waste of time in the corridor? The station in Normal is the third or fourth busiest in the midwest, after Chicago, Milwaukee and just about the same as St. louis.
Comment by mr. whipple Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 4:08 pm
The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah’s largest and most respected newspaper, today endorsed Barrack Obama for president.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/55019844-82/endorsement-romney-obama-president.html.csp
I wonder if Mitt will lose HIS home state.
Comment by Deep South Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 4:14 pm
Having taken Amtrak many times to Springfield (one time the train was 20 minutes late leaving Joliet then 3.5 hours late getting into Springfield) I guess the ability for it to go 40 MPH and hour faster for 15 minutes is nice. But one trip to the siding and all of that saved time goes away…
Also I would suggest they spend a few bucks to make union station look less like a third world train station.
Comment by OneMan Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 4:17 pm
A lot of money was spent upgrading the track on the UP with heavy-weight rail and concrete crossties, installed at close tolerances…kind of embarrassing if the ride was “bumpy”.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 4:21 pm
well, they endorsed Obama in 2008 and he got 34% in the state.
I’m a downstater but I’d easily agree to divvy up these Amtrak dollars between metra and interstates. long distance passenger rail will just never be profitable in this country for a host of reasons.
Comment by Disconnect Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 4:35 pm
– long distance passenger rail will just never be profitable in this country for a host of reasons.–
It’s supposed to be profitable?
How much profit do the interstates and airports turn?
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 4:37 pm
There’s a very basic structural problem with high speed rail in Illinois that has not been addressed, and it’s unlikely to be addressed.
A much higher percentage of our overall rail traffic here in Illinois runs East-West than North-South.
That simple fact is likely to always create issues for on-time performance of high speed rail, particularly because the high speed rail is more North/South oriented.
So there are going to be rail crossing issues, scheduling issues, and as a result, performance issues.
Comment by Judgment Day Friday, Oct 19, 12 @ 7:05 pm
Why would you dis the high speed rail accomplishment? That is a big deal for Illinois. Highest speeds on a train outside of the northeastern U.S. Nearly 40 mph faster than before. Good alternative to driving. Wi-Fi on there now. What’s the gripe? In a state with a lot of problems this is a GREAT thing that SHOULD be celebrated!
Comment by Don't understand Monday, Oct 22, 12 @ 3:37 pm
===this is a GREAT thing===
15 miles of track does not a “GREAT” thing make.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Oct 22, 12 @ 3:40 pm