CHICAGO -- Eight Midwestern states hope to secure federal stimulus money for a network of faster passenger trains with Chicago as its hub _ joining forces to boost their chances of getting a cut of $8 billion set aside for high-speed rail.
The governors, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, said Wednesday they sent a joint letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking him to support the initiative.
Longtime proponents of high-speed rail welcomed the show of unity, saying it should help as states vie for the federal stimulus dollars. California and New York are among those competing for the funds.
"Getting eight governors to agree where to go to lunch is a challenge, so them agreeing on priority corridors is very good news," said Kevin Brubaker of the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago. "We'll still be competing with other states, but at least we're competing on the same team rather than against each other."
A spokesman for Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who also signed the letter, agreed.
"If there's a unified presentation, it will present a stronger case for us using some of these funds," Scott Holste said.
The multistate appeal comes days before the White House is expected to release further details about the kinds of projects that would qualify for the billions marked for high-speed trains.
The governors' proposal, dubbed the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative and first conceived a decade ago, focuses on upgrading three existing routes by 2014 _ one between Chicago and St. Louis, one between Chicago and Madison, Wis., via Milwaukee and one between Chicago and Pontiac, Mich., through Detroit.
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