$1.01 Billion Earmarked For Joliet I-80 Reconstruction But Deal Not Done Yet

By Evan Bredeson | May 17, 2019
WJOL

The city of Joliet and Mayor Bob O’Dekirk have announced the inclusion of $1.01 billion in I-80 reconstruction funds in the proposed $41.5 billion capital improvement plan proposed by Governor J.B. Pritzker. But there is nothing official from Springfield. Lawmakers still have until May 31st to approve the budget.

“Ever since the disclosure in February of the structural weaknesses of the I-80 Des Plaines River bridge in Joliet and the general deterioration of the interstate, Interim City Manager Marty Shanahan and I have made it a priority to press State and Federal officials to make all of the highways and bridges in Joliet both safe and efficient,” said O’Dekirk. “We have essentially been harassing the Governor and our legislators to make sure Joliet gets its fair share of infrastructure tax dollars—and it worked. We are sincerely grateful to Governor Pritzker for recognizing the corridor’s urgent needs and earmarking funds.”

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wjol.com

$1 billion proposed for I-80

Pritzker plan for capital bill still depends on tax hikes

By BOB OKON
The Herald News
May 18, 2019

Photo by ALEX ORTIZ

The push to improve Interstate 80 got a boost Friday when Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed a state capital plan that includes $1 billion for Interstate 80.

Local legislators called the Pritzker proposal a good start but cautioned that more needs to be done, including finding the money to pay for a capital plan.

“We need additional revenue in order to fund the projects that are in the governor’s proposal,” said state Sen. Pat McGuire, D-Joliet. “Without additional revenue there cannot be a capital bill.”

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theherald-news.com

Pritzker unveils $41.5 billion capital plan

A proposal shown to lawmakers includes major new spending on roads, transit, schools and more, but would require a doubling of the gas tax and new levies on items like vehicle registration, liquor, cable TV and ride-hailing.

Getty Images from CRAIN’S BUSINESS CHICAGO

GREG HINZ ON POLITICS
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
May 17, 2019

After months of pondering, Gov. J.B. Pritzker today began briefing state lawmakers on his much-anticipated capital plan, and it’s both big and expensive—$41.5 billion over six years, to be financed in part by a doubling of the state’s tax on gasoline.

According to background documents obtained by Crain’s, Pritzker wants to pair just under $25 billion in state spending (mostly new, but some reprogrammed) with $10 billion in expected federal funds with $6.6 billion in local and private funds, saying that work is needed because Illinois infrastructure is in “dire” shape.

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chicagobusiness.com

State resolution aimed at converting I-80 into tollway

By Bob Okon
The Herald News
March 26, 2019

Shaw Media File Photo

State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., D-Elwood, has introduced legislation aimed at converting the local stretch of Interstate 80 into a tollway.

The resolution, if approved, would not finalize plans to convert I-80 into a tollway but could start the process. Walsh said the legislation is needed if a $1 billion-plus plan for improvements is ever to get funded.

“My purpose in introducing it is to bring that option to the forefront,” Walsh said. “We all know how bad I-80 is. We’ve been talking about it for I don’t know how many years.”

Talk about converting the local stretch of I-80 into a tollway has been going on for a little more than a year with the creation of two local groups – Residents United for Safer Highways (RUSH) and the I-80 Coalition – that are pushing to accelerate state spending on the planned improvements.

Walsh’s proposal would continue the I-80 tollway that now exists in Cook County and extend it west to Route 47 in Morris. I-80 now is a tollway from the Indiana border to the point where it connects with Interstate 294.

The bill, House Joint Resolution 50 (HJR50), is a resolution calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to direct the highway authorities to begin the process needed to obtain federal approval to convert the section of I-80 to a tollway.

Approval would be required in both the state House and Senate.

John Greuling, chief executive of the Will County Center for Economic Development, which formed the I-80 Coalition, called HJR50 “a good move.”

“If we leave the state to its own devices to try to figure out how to fund the reconfiguration of I-80, we could be waiting a long, long time,” Greuling said.

Walsh said as much as $1.5 billion could be needed to complete improvements planned for 16 miles of I-80 between Route 30 in New Lenox and Ridge Road in Minooka.

The state is considering a capital bill that would authorize $38 billion to $40 billion in road and bridge improvements during 10 years, he said.

“To go and ask for a billion and a half [dollars] for just
16 miles is a huge ask,” Walsh said.

Plans include extra lanes, new interchanges and bridge improvements. But most of the plan, including replacement of the bridge over the Des Plaines River and upgrades at the Chicago Street interchange, is not funded.

Illinois Tollway officials have expressed willingness to take on the project.

Former board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom spoke to Will County and Joliet officials last year and said the tollway could speed up the project. Pritzker has since appointed new members to the tollway board, including two from Will County.