by jboullion | Dec 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a guest column by State Representative Jennider Shilling in the La Crosse Tribune:
I read Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s column (Monday’s Tribune) and continue to be amazed at his insistence that killing the high-speed rail project and shipping thousands of jobs to California, Florida and Illinois is a victory.
He has said that turning away $810 million in funding and the thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs will somehow save taxpayers money. But what Walker fails to mention is that Wisconsin taxpayers will now be on the hook for up to $61.3 million in freight and passenger rail upgrades that need to be made and would have been paid for by the federal grants. Because he turned away that money, 100 percent of these costs will now fall on Wisconsin taxpayers.
Because his numbers don’t add up, Walker also tried to paint this project as a high-speed rail line to nowhere. In reality, the Chicago-Milwaukee upgrade and Milwaukee-Madison line would have been the first leg of a major project between Chicago and the Twin Cities. I’ve always said that this infrastructure investment would be like our investment in the interstate projects of the 1950s, and it’s hard to imagine what our state would look like today if we had turned down federal money to construct these highway projects.
While I could argue the merits of this project at length, the most unbelievable statement of his was that he couldn’t imagine people in western Wisconsin supporting the high-speed rail project. Had he been listening to the residents in La Crosse and throughout our region, I am sure he would have reached a very different conclusion.
by jboullion | Dec 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Marie Rohde in The Daily Reporter:
No money is available to build a train shed at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station even though the project is required to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
The money for the station improvements had been included as part of the $810 million Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail project that was rescinded by the federal government last week in light of opposition by Gov.-elect Scott Walker.
The Intermodal Station project was to construct a storage and maintenance building for new trains that run between Chicago and Milwaukee. It also included construction of platforms and an ADA-compliant connection to the station.
Steve Kulm, a spokesman for Amtrak in Chicago, said Amtrak has spent more than $109 million to bring some 200 stations around the U.S. into compliance and is working to bring all the nation’s train stations into compliance. However, he said, he does not know if money for the Milwaukee project is available.
“Where the money might come from, I don’t know,” Kulm said. “I can’t say that we’ve identified a funding source.”
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation project was supposed to begin in the spring.
“There are no other sources of funding for the project,” said Peg Schmitt, a WisDOT spokeswoman. “In terms of what we do next, I don’t know.”
Despite the lack of money, the state could be forced to come up with $18 million to complete the project if a lawsuit is threatened. The ADA requires public places be accessible to those with disabilities.
Diana Sullivan, disability rights and access specialist with Milwaukee-based Independence First Inc., said her organization will meet this week to discuss whether to file a complaint if the state project is not completed. Independence First, a nonprofit advocacy agency, has successfully used the federal law to improve accessibility elsewhere.
“We were up in arms over the Riverwalk and Summerfest,” Sullivan said. “We talked to the U.S. Attorney and reached a settlement.”
The Intermodal Station in Milwaukee could face the same type of action, she said.
by jboullion | Dec 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the La Crosse Tribune:
Scott Walker isn’t even governor yet, and he has lost an $810 million game of chicken with our money. He has undoubtedly lost jobs and certainly will lose the company that moved to Wisconsin to help build trains for high-speed rail.
And, he’s declaring victory.
He’s off the rails before the train even left the station.
He told us that he didn’t want to contribute to runaway federal spending. He didn’t want to invest in high-speed rail. Instead, he wanted to use the federal money to improve Wisconsin’s roads.
That was a wonderful theory — but the federal government repeatedly told him that the money would go for high-speed rail projects.
And, the feds told Walker that if Wisconsin wasn’t interested, other states would get our money.
California, here it comes. Yes, you’re the big winner of $624 million, courtesy of your friends in Wisconsin. Florida, you’re getting $342.2 million of our money. Washington, here’s to you — $161.5 million from the Badger State. Even you, Illinois, our cursed neighbors to the south: You’re getting $42.3 million from Wisconsin.
Scott Walker is thoroughly pleased to hand you this money, courtesy of the taxpayers of Wisconsin.
by jboullion | Dec 12, 2010 | Uncategorized
Milwaukee: Monday’s rally at City Hall in support of high speed rail will focus on the Milwaukee jobs crisis created by the re-direction of funds to other states. Now that Governor-elect Walker’s decision has apparently cost Wisconsin 13,000 jobs, and risks losing the new Talgo high speed rail plant in Milwaukee, the coalition will demand that Walker include Milwaukee job creation in the upcoming special legislative session.
What: High Speed Train and Milwaukee Jobs Crisis Rally
Where: Milwaukee City Hall Rotunda
When: Monday, December 13, 12 Noon
Who: Good Jobs & Livable Neighborhoods project of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and coalition partners.
In addition, on Thursday December 16th at 7 PM there will be a major town hall meeting in the neighborhood that would be directly affected by closing the Talgo high speed rail plant. The meeting will be held at the New Hope Baptist Church, 2433 W. Roosevelt Dr., Milwaukee. The meeting will be led by Reverend Willie Brisco and State Senator Spencer Coggs.
by jboullion | Dec 10, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The governor-elect’s insistence on killing the Milwaukee-to-Madison rail line seems to have paid off for him. But not for the rest of the state.
And Wisconsin stands still. Thanks to the opposition of Governor-elect Scott Walker and an apparent majority of state residents, federal transportation officials announced Thursday that the state won’t get the money needed to build a fast rail link from Milwaukee to Madison. Walker called the decision a victory, and, in one sense, he’s right. Those like Walker who thought the rail line was a waste of money won.
But in a larger sense, the state lost. The opposition of Walker and others was shortsighted. The money the Obama administration was willing to invest in Wisconsin would have brought jobs and an improved transportation system. It could have served as an economic development tool and an attraction to new industries.
And it still can if rail advocates continue to fight for creating a modern and balanced transportation system in Wisconsin. Clearly, their work is cut out for them, and, clearly, they failed to make their case to most residents and to Republicans this time around. It’s time to start again – because the case still makes sense.
The line would have been part of a network of fast trains connecting major cities in the Midwest, bypassing roads and air travel that are hit harder by weather and, in the case of airlines, by long lines and delays caused by security measures. Roads and cars, meanwhile, will be hit hard by rising gasoline prices and the need to improve a crumbling infrastructure.
A modern rail network offers a sound travel alternative, convenient, comfortable and business-friendly, a fact that other countries and states have long recognized. Furthermore, making Madison one stop on a Midwest network and linking its university, research parks and innovative companies to Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago made all the sense in the world.
This was never about just a Milwaukee-to-Madison link; it was about linking economic centers throughout the Midwest so that they can better compete in a global economy.
