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Question of the day

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Illinois
Polls

* From a March 3-8 statewide poll taken by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research for Operating Engineers Local 150…

Now I am going to list a few different types of infrastructure in Illinois. Please tell me if you think each one is in good shape or in bad shape.

“Roads” Total good 38%
Total bad 57%

“Bridges” Total good 36%
Total bad 50%

“Trains like the L and METRA [Cook and collar counties only]” Total good 56%
Total bad 22%

You should check out the whole thing, by the way. Interesting stuff in there.

* The Question: How would you rate your own local infrastructure? Please explain. Thanks.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 1:49 pm

Comments

Where I am at… State and Township roads are generally pretty good. County roads, horrendous. I am waiting for this year’s rendition of “County roads are in pretty good shape,” in the newspaper. Anyone that actually drives on them knows they are in shambles. But hey, they’ll be out to fill the pot holes in late June….

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 1:55 pm
Horrible, pot holes every where, every bridge is rusted and looks ancient, and my commute has not one but two zones I have to go through.

Comment by Not It Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 1:57 pm
Ever lived in Western Europe? We are not even close. Eastern Europe, is more like it around here.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 2:04 pm
Roads: good with room for improvement. Bridges: fair. Trains: Good (all Metra).

Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 2:10 pm
Bad. There are holes in streets all around town and I’ve not seen any movement by the city to fix them, even temporarily.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 2:11 pm
The spouse traveling from the Metro East to Springfield and back 2x a week no problems. Me traveling to work in East St. Louis 5x a week, 4 tires and an alignment in 2 years. It’s like going on a safari in a Range Rover (only I have a Prius) ESL is a ruins. In winter during snow I might as well have an Inuit take me in, no plowing whatsoever. Potholes that could swallow a tire

Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 2:22 pm
Dupage county: Roads, ok with areas that should be repaved(Downers, Naperville, Glen Ellyn, Lombard).I also travel to Chicago and Springfield, Chicago needs alot of work if not in the loop or north side. Springfield? Meh.
On bridges: I think 50% could be bad, in fact, I’d believe 75%. Remember the bridge in Minnesota that collapsed? IIRC, that bridge had also passed an inspection.
Mass Transit? We have ONE bus that passes through Downers Grove. ONE. I’d love to be able to take buses to go shopping at the mall instead of driving, but I’d have to walk a mile and 1/2 just to catch it! Metra? BNSF is well known for having track issues and late trains.

Comment by Union Thug Gramma Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 2:37 pm
State roads (including in town) are good.
City roads (main streets and neighborhoods) are terrible — just plain terrible.
County roads are a mess.
Bridges I cross as fast as possible, just in case.

Comment by WIUoblivion Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 2:40 pm
All of my roads are in perfect shape! //snark// Most of my roads survived the mild winter, there are a few popouts here and there. State routes are typical condition; County? I have to wonder if Ducky LaMoore lives in my county-our county roads are terrible, mostly because the County Board continues to dip into road funds for other purposes.

Comment by downstate commissioner Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 2:49 pm
Fair but deteriorating fast. Also they are outdated. I live on I80 in the middle of the state. They have added countless distribution centers and hubs (a good thing over all) this has increased semi traffic a lot. Also still no good route I80 to Peoria. Need to make I80 3 lanes from Ottawa east. Population has also increased since these roads were built.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 4:01 pm
DeKalb has let its streets go so badly, they’re saying it’ll take $30 million to bring them all back up to par. $30 million is one year’s operating budget. Meanwhile, the city has added at least 10 employees per year for the past three years while our homes continue to lose value and our commercial tax base remains flat (at least in part due to NIU’s skydiving enrollment). But that’s okay, because we’re home rule and our representatives can just do another round of tax and fee hikes.

Comment by yinn Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 4:41 pm
Duh all local and national infrastructure upgrade and/or replacement is a common theme regardless of zip code ! This is 150 doing PR for MJM and JC the “leader ” of 150 is a lemming to the Democratic leadrship ! To bad his predecessor had to retire !

Comment by Railrat Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 6:05 pm
compared to neighboring states, our roads are pretty darn good. compared to NYC, our el (v subway) and metra (LIRR/ MetroNorth / NJtransit) are TERRIBLE.

Comment by 'Goose Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 10:08 pm
I travel a lot in the Chicago area as well as the northern area of the state. State highways and rural county highways mostly in good shape. I’d say 9 out of 10 bridges are in fair to good shape, but the ones in bad shape are a worry. Metra is holding their own. CTA has way too many slow zones, and some ancient infrastructure that needs attention. The close-in suburbs have the worst roads of all of them.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 11:14 pm
Those numbers suggest to me a stunning lack of awareness about public transit. They do not augur well towards improving it, that’s for sure. People ought to take a look at the rusty metal braces holding the North Red Line embankment together . . . the water leaks in the subway station roofs, especially at Roosevelt . . . the waterfall on your head as you go up the escalator at Sox-35th to the 33rd street exit . . . the still-frequent slow ones . . . the huge lengthening of rail schedules over the past 25 years . . . the missing connections in the system that force people to use overcongested roads.

Comment by Angry Chicagoan Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 7:33 am
slow zones, not slow ones

Comment by Angry Chicagoan Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 7:33 am