Results tagged “econmicrecovery”

Speaking at a luncheon at Chicago's Union League Club, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood reiterated his call for a Midwest "high-speed rail czar". The idea, which LaHood proposed to Governor Pat Quinn last month, would entail "somebody, maybe a retired rail person, who gets up every day, and the only thing that person thinks about is developing the high-speed rail corridor in the Midwest," LaHood said. "That's the way it is going to happen." According to LaHood, a joint program administrator would work with states in the region to figure out how to use portions of the $8 billion allocated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build a high-speed rail network in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Vice President Joe Biden visited Chicago on Monday to speak at the annual Richard J. Daley Urban Forum. He also took a tour of the soon-to-be-reopened Republic Windows and Doors factory on Goose Island. Republic was abruptly shut down last year, right before Christmas, and the workers, members of UE Local 1110 promptly occupied the plant and demanded the severance pay they were entitled to under law. Serious Materials then bought the plant and equipment earlier this year, promising to rehire the workers and start making windows again.

Before leaving for Mexico to meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, President Barack Obama outlined his vision for a series of high-speed rail corridors around the nation, including a nine-state, 3,000 mile Midwestern network that features Chicago as a hub. "High-speed intercity passenger rail can play a critical role in certain travel markets, but the United States has historically failed to invest in this mode," said a statement released by the White House. "The president proposes a long-term strategy intended to build an efficient, high-speed passenger rail network of 100- to 600-mile intercity corridors as one element of a modernized transportation system."

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Pat Quinn in visiting Andrew Jackson Elementary School on Chicago's West side Tuesday. Duncan discussed the $3 billion in funding that the state would get as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. $2 billion of those funds will go to the state's Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which Quinn wants to use to make general aid payments to the state's school districts. The remaining $1 billion in funding will go to support programs and operations in public schools around Illinois. "These funds allow Illinois to pay its bills to schools quickly, which keeps our teachers teaching and protects our children," Quinn said.

Paul Holland, the vice chairman and lead investor for Serious Materials, the California-based company that recently bought Chicago's shuttered Republic Windows and Doors plant, introduced President Barack Obama at a White House conference on green technology Wednesday. Serious Materials, which bought the shuttered Republic Windows and Doors plant on Goose Island, plans to re-open the plant later this spring. "Serious Materials is dedicated to reinventing the American building materials industry with a full commitment to green solutions, while reemploying today hundreds and tomorrow thousands of American workers," Holland said before introducing the President.