Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) were joined today by local officials and community leaders to announce the completion of a multiyear project to install a new deck on the Interstate 280 Sgt. John F. Baker Jr. Mississippi River Bridge in Rock Island County, an improvement that will result in a smoother, safer ride on one of the state’s key travel corridors. Made possible by Gov. Pritzker’s historic, bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program and a partnership with Iowa, the project included patching and resurfacing east of the bridge for a combined investment of $65.7 million.
“This is exactly what Rebuild Illinois, our state’s massive infrastructure modernization program, is all about: to make life better and easier for our people,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “When we make smart investments in the roadways that working families and businesses rely on, we’re constructing a better future for the entire region — one where parents and their children can commute with confidence and where new factories and distribution centers are choosing to locate in Illinois, so they can reliably ship their products across the nation.”
The Baker Bridge opened in 1973 and today carries more than 28,000 vehicles a day, almost 20% of which are trucks. The new deck is the first replacement since the bridge opened.
* Pritzker then asked if anyone in the news media had any questions. Nobody did…
It’s kinda difficult to encourage people to support local journalism when this sort of thing happens.
What possible question could we ask? How about the zillions on migrants…seems as $# mount taxpayer funded housing could have been built for each family….but that might have been too easy.
- Green Mountain Boys - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:29 am:
Do what SI apparently does and just use AI.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:34 am:
Could also be that any press that could possibly ask harder questions wasn’t invited… But a lot of this boils down to just how bad local, small-market TV and radio are. Because they can get a free copy of the event from the state, the news directors figure they can send their own crews out to cover something else. The local TV reporters are generally very inexperienced and fresh out of school. So they will be nervous about pushing hard questions and topics for fear of getting shut out of future events. And a lot of stations no longer have dedicated government beat reporters, so the person sent has zero background on the topics and just copy-pastes the press release.
Interested in your take on the reticence, which is more pronounced in smaller town events. Are the reporters just being overly polite? Pepperidge farm and I remember the Chicago reporters Nd even Springfield reporters, clamoring to ask off-topic questions all the time. You get out in the sticks and… Crickets.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:11 pm:
That was me just now, sorry.
- Frida's boss - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:33 pm:
They’re covering a bridge opening. Even with the Gov there, it’s not like they sent the hard-hitting reporter.
Plus unless they have someone on staff paying attention to state issues and up to speed on all that, you’re not going to get those questions from areas outside Chicago or Springfield.
- DuPage Saint - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:36 pm:
I just think this shows everyone is happy and if he wants to he can be Governor life and I am not being sarcastic
=== Even with the Gov there, it’s not like they sent the hard-hitting reporter.===
That’s kind of a lame excuse. The governor doesn’t show up every day. You don’t have to ask hardball insider questions, just ask about something relevant to the region.
- thisjustinagain - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:43 pm:
Wonder if the silence was deafening to the Gov., since he’s used to Chicago types asking all kinds of questions? Either that or the Gov. just smiled inwardly thinking “It’s a good day today”.
- George Ryan Reynolds - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:48 pm:
It’s likely the TV stations just sent the sticks and didn’t load the cameraperson with a question. Newsrooms have been whittled down so much that the more veteran reporters who could help the kids learn how to do the job took buyouts or left the field.
A great thing to ask, which is relevant to the area and relevant to capital funding, would be the status of the expected Amtrak expansion to the Quad Cities from Chicago.
I’m not sure which is worse: The failure to ask questions at the presser or the below the bottom of the bucket expectations of local journalism on display in comments.
What Flaherty said. Please stop making excuses for them.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 1:27 pm:
So, that new journalism initiative project is sitting on some grant money, but not spending any this year, until they figure out where to put it to best use. I’d say giving some to the kids coming out of the Carbondale and UIS coms/poli-sci classes could help, maybe. Use a stipend or paid internship to let them go out and do some independent field work; learn the ropes by doing, build their resumes and demo reels up. Get one such trainee reporter in each county, and they could cover a Governor on a full state-wide media tour without themselves all doing a day-long drive. They could all pool their coverage. The technology is out there and super-cheap; heck, it can be done on iPhones streaming to a social media platform, with a few accessory cables and a tripod. You could do that for any particular story topic, every day, if you had the network of reporters.
It’s because the corporate owners of the Illinois media have their reporters working on much bigger, more important stories, which will have headlines such as: ‘This mysterious creature in California was born with two heads. Here’s why.’
Back in my reporting days, if you covered an event with a notable personage - politician, entertainer, whatever - in attendance, you asked questions. I don’t get this.
It’s easy to be an armchair quarterback. And yes, the state of local journalism is far from perfect. But reporters are still doing important work in communities across this state despite being stretched so thin. This example is cherry-picked. And the criticism is unfair. Subscribe to your local newspaper. Otherwise, stop complaining.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 7:00 pm:
My first hand experience is that this wasn’t cherry picked, and happens more often than you think.
It’s not. This has only happened a few times in the past five years. I attend, watch or listen to pretty much every gubernatorial press conference. Stop being an apologist.
… Also, it’s just intellectually lazy, kinda like taking a commenter’s sharp insights from this very blog and turning it into a newspaper column without attribution.
===including extensive background on this important project for the region===
Much of it right from the press release.
Release: A $49.7 million project began in 2021 with the demolition and replacement of the westbound bridge deck, followed by the eastbound bridge deck in 2022. The final stage of the project, which patched and resurfaced I-280 from the bridge to the Illinois 92 interchange, was combined with another $16 million improvement that extended the work from the Illinois 92 interchange to east of the Milan Beltway. Additional work included bridge painting and lighting upgrades at Illinois 92.
Story: The project began in 2021 with the demolition and replacement of the westbound bridge deck, coming in with a $49.7 million price tag. In 2022 the eastbound bridge deck was completed and the final stage, patching and resurfacing from the bridge to the Illinois 92 exchange, was finished next. This was combined with another $16 million improvement that extended the work from Illinois 92 to east of the Milan Beltway.
Drawing upon my past life as a reporter and editor there was a time seemingly not so long ago in which if the governor came to your town, had a press conference and the only story you got out of it was the one they wanted you to write … you may not have what it takes to be a professional reporter.
Release: “These investments in I-280 will extend the life of another critical border bridge and strengthen the robust multimodal infrastructure system in the Quad Cities,” Osman said. “I’m proud that we could make these improvements with our partners in Iowa. Working together, we have improved safety, mobility, and commerce between our two states and throughout the Midwest.”
Story: “These investments in I-280 will extend the life of another critical border bridge and strengthen the robust multimodal infrastructure system in the Quad Cities,” Osman said. “I’m proud that we could make these improvements with our partners in Iowa. Working together, we have improved safety, mobility, and commerce between our two states and throughout the Midwest.”
Release: “We call it the Quad Cities for a reason: every town on both sides of the river needs one another to thrive,” said State Rep. Gregg Johnson (D-East Moline). “This bridge is not just connecting two neighboring states, it is connecting one community split by a mighty river.”
Story: “We call it the Quad-Cities for a reason: every town on both sides of the river needs one another to thrive,” Johnson said. “This bridge is not just connecting two neighboring states, it is connecting one community split by a mighty river.”
Release: “This is exactly what Rebuild Illinois, our state’s massive infrastructure modernization program, is all about: to make life better and easier for our people,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “When we make smart investments in the roadways that working families and businesses rely on, we’re constructing a better future for the entire region — one where parents and their children can commute with confidence and where new factories and distribution centers are choosing to locate in Illinois, so they can reliably ship their products across the nation.”
Story: “When we make smart investments in the roadways that working families and businesses rely on, we’re constructing a better future for the entire region — one where parents and their children can commute with confidence and where new factories and distribution centers are choosing to locate in Illinois, so they can reliably ship their products across the nation,” he said.
- Ghost of the Mezzanine Pressroom - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 8:18 pm:
===you may not have what it takes to be a professional reporter.===
For years, when the state’s financial report was issued and the Comptroller had press releases, the only question by a certain “journalist” was how much the report cost to produce and how much it weighed. No other questions. So this journalism curiosity isn’t necessarily new.
- James - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:25 am:
You have the Governor of the 6th largest state in America asking for questions and everyone just guffaws….facepalm.
- curtis - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:27 am:
Any reporters there or just no questions?
- Annon'in - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:29 am:
What possible question could we ask? How about the zillions on migrants…seems as $# mount taxpayer funded housing could have been built for each family….but that might have been too easy.
- Green Mountain Boys - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:29 am:
Do what SI apparently does and just use AI.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:34 am:
Could also be that any press that could possibly ask harder questions wasn’t invited… But a lot of this boils down to just how bad local, small-market TV and radio are. Because they can get a free copy of the event from the state, the news directors figure they can send their own crews out to cover something else. The local TV reporters are generally very inexperienced and fresh out of school. So they will be nervous about pushing hard questions and topics for fear of getting shut out of future events. And a lot of stations no longer have dedicated government beat reporters, so the person sent has zero background on the topics and just copy-pastes the press release.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:38 am:
===Could also be that any press that could possibly ask harder questions wasn’t invited===
No.
There’s a general list. And it was covered in advance by TV stations.
- New Day - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:39 am:
I guess there’s nothing going on that anyone would need to ask about. Cool to be in a state with zero problems whatsoever.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 11:40 am:
===for fear of getting shut out of future events===
This doesn’t happen.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:10 pm:
Interested in your take on the reticence, which is more pronounced in smaller town events. Are the reporters just being overly polite? Pepperidge farm and I remember the Chicago reporters Nd even Springfield reporters, clamoring to ask off-topic questions all the time. You get out in the sticks and… Crickets.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:11 pm:
That was me just now, sorry.
- Frida's boss - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:33 pm:
They’re covering a bridge opening. Even with the Gov there, it’s not like they sent the hard-hitting reporter.
Plus unless they have someone on staff paying attention to state issues and up to speed on all that, you’re not going to get those questions from areas outside Chicago or Springfield.
- DuPage Saint - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:36 pm:
I just think this shows everyone is happy and if he wants to he can be Governor life and I am not being sarcastic
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:38 pm:
=== Even with the Gov there, it’s not like they sent the hard-hitting reporter.===
That’s kind of a lame excuse. The governor doesn’t show up every day. You don’t have to ask hardball insider questions, just ask about something relevant to the region.
- thisjustinagain - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:43 pm:
Wonder if the silence was deafening to the Gov., since he’s used to Chicago types asking all kinds of questions? Either that or the Gov. just smiled inwardly thinking “It’s a good day today”.
- George Ryan Reynolds - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:48 pm:
It’s likely the TV stations just sent the sticks and didn’t load the cameraperson with a question. Newsrooms have been whittled down so much that the more veteran reporters who could help the kids learn how to do the job took buyouts or left the field.
- Incandenza - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:54 pm:
A great thing to ask, which is relevant to the area and relevant to capital funding, would be the status of the expected Amtrak expansion to the Quad Cities from Chicago.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:57 pm:
I’m not sure which is worse: The failure to ask questions at the presser or the below the bottom of the bucket expectations of local journalism on display in comments.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 12:58 pm:
What Flaherty said. Please stop making excuses for them.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 1:27 pm:
So, that new journalism initiative project is sitting on some grant money, but not spending any this year, until they figure out where to put it to best use. I’d say giving some to the kids coming out of the Carbondale and UIS coms/poli-sci classes could help, maybe. Use a stipend or paid internship to let them go out and do some independent field work; learn the ropes by doing, build their resumes and demo reels up. Get one such trainee reporter in each county, and they could cover a Governor on a full state-wide media tour without themselves all doing a day-long drive. They could all pool their coverage. The technology is out there and super-cheap; heck, it can be done on iPhones streaming to a social media platform, with a few accessory cables and a tripod. You could do that for any particular story topic, every day, if you had the network of reporters.
- DuPage - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 1:54 pm:
I have a question. Did we get the federal matching funds to help pay for these repairs? How much did the feds pay?
- VK - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 2:11 pm:
Can we all take the briefest of moments to acknowledge his “or we can all get on with our day…” was very solid comedic timing?
- Say What? - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 2:31 pm:
Feds pay on average 80% of almost all IDOT projects plus the larger local projects.
- Southern - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 2:53 pm:
It’s because the corporate owners of the Illinois media have their reporters working on much bigger, more important stories, which will have headlines such as: ‘This mysterious creature in California was born with two heads. Here’s why.’
- Nick Name - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 3:37 pm:
Back in my reporting days, if you covered an event with a notable personage - politician, entertainer, whatever - in attendance, you asked questions. I don’t get this.
- There - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 4:32 pm:
I was at the Quads event. Print reporters did follow up questions in one-on-ones from what I saw at the event.
- Support Local Journalism - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 4:46 pm:
The Quad City Times had a thorough report on the governor’s visit, including extensive background on this important project for the region: https://qctimes.com/news/local/government-politics/i-280-baker-bridge-mississippi-river-rock-island-illinois-iowa-pritzker/article_2c61e1d2-8eda-11ee-bddf-33dec1557f07.html#tncms-source=login
It’s easy to be an armchair quarterback. And yes, the state of local journalism is far from perfect. But reporters are still doing important work in communities across this state despite being stretched so thin. This example is cherry-picked. And the criticism is unfair. Subscribe to your local newspaper. Otherwise, stop complaining.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 7:00 pm:
My first hand experience is that this wasn’t cherry picked, and happens more often than you think.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 7:37 pm:
===This example is cherry-picked===
It’s not. This has only happened a few times in the past five years. I attend, watch or listen to pretty much every gubernatorial press conference. Stop being an apologist.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 7:45 pm:
… Also, it’s just intellectually lazy, kinda like taking a commenter’s sharp insights from this very blog and turning it into a newspaper column without attribution.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 7:48 pm:
===including extensive background on this important project for the region===
Much of it right from the press release.
Release: A $49.7 million project began in 2021 with the demolition and replacement of the westbound bridge deck, followed by the eastbound bridge deck in 2022. The final stage of the project, which patched and resurfaced I-280 from the bridge to the Illinois 92 interchange, was combined with another $16 million improvement that extended the work from the Illinois 92 interchange to east of the Milan Beltway. Additional work included bridge painting and lighting upgrades at Illinois 92.
Story: The project began in 2021 with the demolition and replacement of the westbound bridge deck, coming in with a $49.7 million price tag. In 2022 the eastbound bridge deck was completed and the final stage, patching and resurfacing from the bridge to the Illinois 92 exchange, was finished next. This was combined with another $16 million improvement that extended the work from Illinois 92 to east of the Milan Beltway.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 8:00 pm:
Drawing upon my past life as a reporter and editor there was a time seemingly not so long ago in which if the governor came to your town, had a press conference and the only story you got out of it was the one they wanted you to write … you may not have what it takes to be a professional reporter.
But, I suppose, times and standards do change.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 8:02 pm:
Oof.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 8:10 pm:
I mean, even the quotes were from the release.
Release: “These investments in I-280 will extend the life of another critical border bridge and strengthen the robust multimodal infrastructure system in the Quad Cities,” Osman said. “I’m proud that we could make these improvements with our partners in Iowa. Working together, we have improved safety, mobility, and commerce between our two states and throughout the Midwest.”
Story: “These investments in I-280 will extend the life of another critical border bridge and strengthen the robust multimodal infrastructure system in the Quad Cities,” Osman said. “I’m proud that we could make these improvements with our partners in Iowa. Working together, we have improved safety, mobility, and commerce between our two states and throughout the Midwest.”
Release: “We call it the Quad Cities for a reason: every town on both sides of the river needs one another to thrive,” said State Rep. Gregg Johnson (D-East Moline). “This bridge is not just connecting two neighboring states, it is connecting one community split by a mighty river.”
Story: “We call it the Quad-Cities for a reason: every town on both sides of the river needs one another to thrive,” Johnson said. “This bridge is not just connecting two neighboring states, it is connecting one community split by a mighty river.”
Release: “This is exactly what Rebuild Illinois, our state’s massive infrastructure modernization program, is all about: to make life better and easier for our people,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “When we make smart investments in the roadways that working families and businesses rely on, we’re constructing a better future for the entire region — one where parents and their children can commute with confidence and where new factories and distribution centers are choosing to locate in Illinois, so they can reliably ship their products across the nation.”
Story: “When we make smart investments in the roadways that working families and businesses rely on, we’re constructing a better future for the entire region — one where parents and their children can commute with confidence and where new factories and distribution centers are choosing to locate in Illinois, so they can reliably ship their products across the nation,” he said.
- Ghost of the Mezzanine Pressroom - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 8:18 pm:
===you may not have what it takes to be a professional reporter.===
Amen…sadly.
- bean counter - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 8:23 pm:
For years, when the state’s financial report was issued and the Comptroller had press releases, the only question by a certain “journalist” was how much the report cost to produce and how much it weighed. No other questions. So this journalism curiosity isn’t necessarily new.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 29, 23 @ 8:24 pm:
===how much it weighed===
LOL
I must’ve missed that one.
- Shytown - Thursday, Nov 30, 23 @ 12:09 am:
Embarraassing
- Occasionally Moderated - Thursday, Nov 30, 23 @ 6:45 am:
I’m in that tv/newspaper market.
Over the years I have noticed that the stories are just a re-hash of press releases.
Especially with crime and courts stories.
The rest of the newscast is the weather. A short weather snippet at the beginning and end and a really long one in the middle. It takes up airtime.
I have made a few story suggestions to KWQC and always received a return email but no follow up on the story suggestions.
I also have tried to make it a point to email the news director when some new young reporter does well.
Side note- KWQC gets some very green on air personalities fresh out of school. Some bomb some bloom and move on. It’s fun to see the ones who bloom.