Chicago already has that — it’s called Metra (commuter rail).

“Now this rail project would have to be a private venture (prospective operators bidding for the build-and-operate franchise)…”

Unless the prospective operator would also be financing such a project, it would not really be a “private venture”.

Until telecommuting catches on big time, a lot of people will continue to travel downtown. Part of the appeal to light rail would be as the city continues to sprawl, commmuters from a lot farther out of the city–like Huntley and beyond–could drive to a BIG parking lot, board a train ‘inbound’, change to CTA trains at ORD and head downtown. A long commute, but it would beat the expressways. If the one or both airports closed, there’d still be use for the rail line and parking lots. This would, however, clobber the $36/day/park-at-the airport lots, and I’m sure they are BIG campaign contributors.

Now this rail project would have to be a private venture (prospective operators bidding for the build-and-operate franchise), or we’d end up with train operators union members trained in 4 weeks being higher priced than the pilots — oops — I think CTA already has that except for the old-time airlines.

There are about 15 stations on the Blue Line to between downtown and the airport. Figuring a train stops for about a minute at each, I’d guess it’s at least a 15 minute savings on average. But maybe it’s only 45 seconds at each, which would make it closer to 10 minutes – I’ve never paid attention. Not sure if that extra time is worth all the billions, of course. It is a very slow ride going in from O’Hare, there’s no doubt, and I would have appreciated an express back when I used the line.

I really like the idea of a light rail between O’Hare and Rockford that someone here mentioned. However, I don’t really see the point in investing in a future based on cheap air travel, because I don’t believe that is our future. In the coming years, air travel will once again become a luxury, too expensive for the average Joe who wants to fly to Las Vegas for the weekend. When oil hits $200 a barrel, watch the airlines go out of business and/or raise fares to prohibitive levels.

It’s more forceful if you refer to them as our “formerly up-river neighbors”…

Chicago is one of my favorite cities, having grown up just *outside* of it. But I know I wouldn’t want to live in Cook County. I’m here in California, which is an area that sometimes seems sane compared to Chi-Town.

Governor Blagojevich also has his name on bunch of stuff too, such as the toll ways. It reminds me of the Mao Zedong picture over the Forbidden City’s gate I keep seeing during the Olympic coverage.

If Chicago needed more airport capacity, why close Meigs ? If chicago needed airport capacity, just expand Rockford and link it to Chicago with (please pardon me) light rail, with BIG parking lots and service Rockford to ORD, with a train change at ORD for Chicago ? The rights-of-way are in sort-of public hands (Tollway), the airport in Rockford owns adjacent land (No further condemnation/eminent domain).

But it’s not about flight capacity-it’s about building the airport with FAA airport trust fund bucks on a 9:1 match, and passing contract out to the connected.

If there was a federal 9:1 match to build pyramids, Chicago would look like Giza.

The inscribed dedication on the stone pedestal commemorating the founding of the park told me all I need to know about Daley. Something about the park being “built by Mayor Daley as a gift to the people of Chicago”.

How many ward heelers will get jobs with the expanded rail line? That’s what it’s there for, not the 9 minutes.