Barack Obama

Obama, Durbin Say Illinois Will Receive 33 Percent More Funding in Transportation Bill

Thursday, July 28, 2005

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington Contact: Robert Gibbs or Tommy Vietor, (202) 228-5511
Illinois Contact: Julian Green, (312) 886-3506
Durbin Contact: Angela Benander, (202) 224-7115
Date: July 28, 2005

Obama, Durbin Say Illinois Will Receive 33 Percent More Funding in Transportation Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Transportation bill set to pass Congress will allocate 33 percent more funding to Illinois than the previous bill passed in 1998.

"It's a time to put people to work at improving our roads and our bridges and our public transportation so that Illinois can still be the crossroads of a 21st century America," said Obama. "This bill will provide much-needed and long-overdue investments in transportation in Illinois."

"This transportation bill makes a significant investment in highways and transit infrastructure that is so important to communities across the state," said Durbin. "Senator Obama helped write this bill and made sure Illinois received its fair share of highway and transit funds. I was pleased to work with him and our Illinois colleagues in the House to provide the funding needed for our roads, bridges, and transit systems."

Under the transportation bill passed in 1998, Illinois received an average of $927 million each year. Under the current Senate bill, Illinois will receive an average of $1.236 billion a year, or $309 million more per year. Over the five-year life of the bill, that is $1.545 billion more for Illinois, an increase of 33.34 percent more each year than under TEA 21.

Under this bill, Illinois transit will receive $2.1 billion in formula funds. In the previous Transportation bill, Illinois received only $1.9 billion over six years. Over a comparable 6-year period, Illinois would receive $2.467 billion - 128% over TEA 21's level.

Obama and Durbin said that for every $1 billion spent on transportation infrastructure, it is estimated that 24,000 new jobs are supported. By providing Illinois with $1.2 billion per year in transportation funding, this bill will support tens of thousands of new jobs for Illinois families.