Passenger rail 'incredibly important' to Rockford growth: Stadelman

Announcement coming soon; service could return by 2026

An operator is soon to be named and passenger rail service expected to resume between Rockford and Chicago as early as 2026, State Senator Steve Stadelman told an audience of business leaders Thursday week during the Rockford Chamber of Commerce speaker series, "The Update."

 
Stadelman retraced efforts to bring back passenger rail travel between Rockford and Chicago, which ended in 1981, and discucssed the path forward since he secured $275 million in Rebuild Illinois funds and the Illinois Department of Transportation hired a project manager to prepare for construction, which will include track upgrades and new stations in Belvidere and downtown Rockford.

"However people get from Point A to Point B, economic development follows." said Stadelman, noting growth patterns that first followed rivers, then transcontinental rail and later the interstate highway system. "Passenger rail service in the 2st century is incredibly important to the Rockford area."  
 
Click the pic to view video from the event:
 

Stadelman briefs Illinois newspaper convention on journalism task force

State Senator Steve Stadelman participated in a panel discussion Thursday about the future of local journalism during the Illinois Press Association annual convention in Bloomington. Stadelman, a Rockford television news anchor for 25 years before being elected to the Illnois Senate in 2012, explained the mission of the Local Jouralism Task Force, established under legislation he passed to make recommendations on ways Illinois might support news reporting in communities across the state. The task force, which is scheduled to conduct is second meeting virtually next week, is studying the decline of newspapers and broadcast media and succesful models for supporting journalism as an essential component to democracy and good government.
 

In case you missed me on Facebook ...

Steve Stadelman
June 7 at 5:09 PM

Bruce Erickson and Remi visited my office today to discuss the 17th Judicial Circuit Court Volunteer Therapy Dog Program, which provides emotional support in local courtrooms but also for Rockford Police, the Winnebago County Sheriff, several public schools and the Illinois State Police Crime Lab here in the Zeke Giorgi Center. As you can see from the brochure, Remi is part of a team that really gets around!

 

 

Steve Stadelman
June 9 at 3:06 PM

Congratulations to the 2023 graduates of the Rockford Public Library Online High School and to library leadership for developing a program that allows students to earn a high school diploma -- not a GED -- through an online curriculum that's available 24/7 and lets students balance their study with jobs and family while learning career skills in 10 fields. My video message below was included in this week's commencement ceremony at the The RPL Nordlof Center.