Issue Position: Transportation & Infrastructure

Issue Position

Illinois has long served as the transportation hub of the Midwest region, but our infrastructure is aging and incomplete. In many areas, commuters endure growing traffic congestion that costs money, time and fuel. The freight networks around Chicago are tangled and inefficient, roads and bridges across the state are in desperate need of repair, and many transit options are underfunded and incomplete.

Alexi wants to restore Illinois as an innovation leader in providing world-class transportation infrastructure that promotes the movement of goods and people across the country. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport consistently ranks as one of busiest in the world, the nation's freight rail carriers converge in Illinois, our rivers and canals connect waterways from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf, and our highway system serves as the crossroads of America. As we climb out from this economic crisis, Alexi believes we should rethink our transportation policy to spur economic growth, reduce congestion and pollution, promote job growth, encourage healthier lifestyles and support more livable communities.

Modernize our transportation program

The upcoming reauthorization of the national transportation bill provides a unique opportunity to realize the full potential of our transportation system. Alexi supports legislation that articulates a national vision with specific performance targets for the national transportation program, and holds state and local transportation agencies accountable to its goals.

Alexi believes that we must reform the way that transportation is funded. As Senator, he would be a vocal advocate for ensuring that every mode of transportation is being funded based on performance. Low-pollution modes -- like rail, transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure -- are significantly underfunded compared to automobile infrastructure.

The many and disparate sources of transportation funding results in a system that is inefficient, redundant and yet fails to meet all of our transportation needs. Alexi supports the creation of a Unified Transportation Trust Fund, which would help achieve a balanced and targeted allocation of federal funds.

Safer, healthier, more livable communities

Housing, transportation, energy use and the environment are all interconnected and affect people's everyday quality of life. Alexi strongly supports the Livable Communities Act, which encourages a coordination of federal housing, transportation, energy and environmental policy and comprehensive regional planning to connect these issues through sustainable development. With integrated, long-term planning, our communities will be able to cut traffic congestion, reduce pollution-causing carbon emissions, increase productivity, create jobs, and revitalize Main Streets and urban centers.

Create a National Infrastructure Fund

Our economy, our national security, and our global competitiveness demand that we invest in the infrastructure that serves as the foundation for America's economy. Alexi proposes the creation of a National Infrastructure Fund that would directly fund large-scale infrastructure projects that are most economically beneficial and efficient. The Fund would essentially strip politics out of the decision-making process by empowering an independent board of leading experts in the field -- urban planners, economists, engineers, geologists and others -- to prioritize the nation's large-scale infrastructure needs based on their national and regional economic benefits, preventing reckless earmark projects like the "Bridge to Nowhere."

The proposal is deficit-neutral and would be funded by cutting the tax breaks for big oil companies, which would make $45 billion available over the next decade. Instead of fattening the profits of oil companies, that money is better used to fund projects that connect transit systems, update the nation's electric grid, streamline freight rail lines, and repair roads and bridges.

Invest in rail

Rail provides an efficient, cost-effective form of transportation for people and goods. Chicago stands as a major hub for the country, but its network is desperately in need of repair. Before we invest in costly new infrastructure, Alexi believes we must invest in upgrading what we have. Alexi supports efforts to untangle the freight rail networks around Chicago through CREATE -- a federal, state and city partnership that would invest in capital improvements to increase the efficiency of the region's rail infrastructure.

Alexi supports the expansion of high-speed passenger rail by upgrading tracks and equipment across the country. These two efforts would create jobs, reduce air pollution, and cut travel times for drivers and riders of Metra and Amtrak.

Alexi supports expanding the program that began under the stimulus to create high-speed rail corridors. Anyone who has flown between New York City and Washington DC knows that hopping on the train is a far more hassle-free experience and takes about the same amount of time. We can easily replicate this model for regional travel throughout the United States.

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