High-Speed Rail Construction Begins

(AP) — Politicians on Friday cast Illinois as a pioneer for being the first to roll federal stimulus money into a high-speed passenger rail line, claiming that the jobs, tourism and traveler convenience anticipated from the St. Louis-to-Chicago route justifies the $1.1 billion taxpayer tab.

Using an Amtrak locomotive and two passenger cars as a backdrop, Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Sen. package Durbin and other dignitaries praised the start this month of $98 million in upgrades to a 90-mile stretch of track from Alton, just northeast of St. Louis, to Lincoln.

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