Would you consider NW Indiana if transit to Chicago improved? (Skokie: lease, insurance)

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

First this should be in the NWI forum. Also we do have commuter rail the South Shore line and the Chicago Skyway+busing. Another advantage we have is our gasoline prices. drop 40 cents just crossing an imagineary state line. (Geeze)

Mezzin i agree 100% however we have to fix up Gary and the northern part of Lake County first. Once Gary is ready to rebound i wouldn't be surprised if the city bounces back above the peak 172k population mark and maybe go 200k or even higher (Near the size of Fort Wayne)

This seems to be a shared topic as the south shore enters the sburbs and the south side
Just curious - Do you think Mitch Daniels would even think about funds for NWI and the SS extension leg?
Heck I remember he did not even want to rebuild a flyover in Hammond.

[wrcousert]

Originally Posted by urza216

The El doesn't even run to Hegeweich in the city limits. They'd have to extend it there before Hammond, lol.

This is like asking why the red line doesn't go down to Dolton or Harvey when it goes up to Skokie, Illinois. Well, first you're gonna have to at least extend it down to 119th street in the city. Right now it doesn't even go south of 95th street.

And the Metra Electric should go down to Kankakee. Metra service is in Kenosha, Wisconson..

It's only 25 miles from Hammond to downtown. The Blue Line light rail in LA is that long and the trip takes less than an hour and costs less than two bucks.

It is doable. It just seems that nobody is really interested. Maybe the ridership isn't there.

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Yeah I know my friend - and yes it would be nice to get that project moving along.



I strongly believe the se line has a far better shot at being completed vs. the south extension of the south shore line.

I hope its not 10 years
If they ever get the Peotone airport moving along its a shoe in

Lets face the truth if the economy ever comes back we will need a third airport
but the two go hand in hand

Its not as if Will county is not growing in leaps and bounds and if a person looks 20 years down the road Will county will be the regions second most populated county
Homewood Huh - Nice place Dixie HWY-- used to work in that village
there is a really good mexican cuisine restaurant by the fire dept i like to frequent.

sorry for getting off topic

I think right now its over 650k

Sunny do you have any updates on the Illiana expressway and when construction is suppost to start and end?

[urza216]

Originally Posted by wrcousert

It's only 25 miles from Hammond to downtown. The Blue Line light rail in LA is that long and the trip takes less than an hour and costs less than two bucks.

It is doable. It just seems that nobody is really interested. Maybe the ridership isn't there.

Skokie and Oak Park have El service and extending the El to Hammond sounds like a great idea. There's ridership in Hammond (and nearby) but the southland is under-served. I was just saying that FIRST we have to have El service on the far southeast side of Chicago!

Although there was a recent thread where a Lakeview resident was proposing LESS transit on the south side because they don't want "undesirables" comin' around.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by urza216

Extending the El to Hammond sounds like a great idea. There's ridership in Hammond (and nearby) but the southland is under-served. I was just saying that FIRST we have to have El service on the far southeast side of Chicago!

Seems to me we have plenty of areas in Chicago which are underserved by the L and which need to be revitalized. Why would we invest dollars into expanding it into another state as opposed to better connecting the City itself to the system? Makes no sense.

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Seems to me we have plenty of areas in Chicago which are underserved by the L and which need to be revitalized. Why would we invest dollars into expanding it into another state as opposed to better connecting the City itself to the system? Makes no sense.

cause the other state is taking all the businesses.
Pat Quinn in some ways i feel sorry for Illinois/Chicago and some ways i don't If he is reelected in 2014 ill be poping the popcorn and watching Illinois turn into California #2. So well let time tell if i am right Illinois/Chicago's last opportunity to save itself from blowing all the businesses away is the next election.
But the ball is in Illinois hands its up to the voters to decide. heck CME group is talking about moving out of Illinois to another state.
Since i only have atm an avaiable chart of the cost of doing business in Illinois and Indiana well make a comparison between our 2 states.
A business has to make money or otherwise it gets bailed at (at your expense) or it closes its doors and people are unemployed.
Basic Business costs here is a chart based on a business with just 100 employees.
Per 1,000,000$ a business makes in taxable income they spend 30,000 more a year (Multibillion dollar corporations pay MILLIONS more in taxes)
Next expense for business is the main reason modern forge moved to Merriville Indiana. per 100 employees a business has to spend 136,000$ in workers compensation. Indiana that same business pays 47,000$ per 100 Employees. The Compensation rate is 1.23$ per hour compared to nearly 3$ per hour in Illinois. Finally Unemployment Insurance for 100 employees is 19k in Indiana compared to 42k in Illinois.
All i have to say is Illinois needs a Mitch Daniels to fix your business climate and balance the governments budget. There is more people like him out there you just need to find them and get them running for governor Hope this explains the full picture to why companies like Modern Forge are leaving Illinois.
I will add other factors are also used in a businesses decision to move or stay but the taxes aren't much of an arguement and gasoline prices aren't even worth getting into a dicussion about.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy

Sunny do you have any updates on the Illiana expressway and when construction is suppost to start and end?

The only updates I have on the Illiana was the toll increase that our lovely governor passed has funds allocated for the Illinois portion of the toll.

I know MD was in favor
will have to dig up some info

This road should spur some major development for transportation companies along with intermodal facilities.

With the economy its hard to determine exactly what is going to move ahead or move to the side.

Obviously the dreaded economy and state budgets have alot to do with this planning.

I have not really read any material on the proposal obama laid out
one would speculate this type of project would get a nod if things go forward with what ever obama is trying to push ahead.

you may want to look at centerpoint properties website they may have something on there about this subject.

It would also be a huge win for south lake county indiana as it would open up a major thru fare.

That is just my spin on the Illiana but will post any thing if i come across an article or an interesting site.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Seems to me we have plenty of areas in Chicago which are underserved by the L and which need to be revitalized. Why would we invest dollars into expanding it into another state as opposed to better connecting the City itself to the system? Makes no sense.

Well, BRU67, you can ride your bicycle to an El station outside of the city limits and in your neighboring town of Oak Park. It would be nice if this option was available to residents of Hammond, Indiana and its neighbor Calumet City, Illinois.

Maybe it doesn't make any sense that Skokie and Oak Park have El stations when there are so many parts of CHICAGO underserved by the El. Why do we invest dollars in these areas when they don't even pay property taxes to Chicago?

Why does the blue line go all the way to another city when the Red Line doesn't even go south of 95th street? There's still another good 20 more blocks IN THE CITY that could be covered on the Red Line.

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

The only updates I have on the Illiana was the toll increase that our lovely governor passed has funds allocated for the Illinois portion of the toll.

I know MD was in favor
will have to dig up some info

This road should spur some major development for transportation companies along with intermodal facilities.

With the economy its hard to determine exactly what is going to move ahead or move to the side.

Obviously the dreaded economy and state budgets have alot to do with this planning.

I have not really read any material on the proposal obama laid out
one would speculate this type of project would get a nod if things go forward with what ever obama is trying to push ahead.

you may want to look at centerpoint properties website they may have something on there about this subject.

It would also be a huge win for south lake county indiana as it would open up a major thru fare.

That is just my spin on the Illiana but will post any thing if i come across an article or an interesting site.

Well since were talking about toll roads ill give the full picture on Mitch Daniels leasing the toll road (Which is a great idea and heres why) First were not liable for paying to keep the road maintained after we leased it. 2nd and god this has to be embarassing even Mitch Daniels said the company that bought it paid to much (Hello they are in trouble financially i smell a bankruptcy brewing and a returning of the toll road) also 3rd as we saw in Minneapolis with the I35W bridge collasping we need to repair our bridges and roads and 3B extra up front cash will do the trick. For the people that have driven the Indiana toll road the tolls aren't insane either. plus in a few years you can take I-69 down to Evansville
Also Sunny to answer your question i am not sure ill ever take the toll roads again in Illinois after that if i need to visit my family. Taking more of my money in this recession is unacceptable and i won't allow it.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Seems to me we have plenty of areas in Chicago which are underserved by the L and which need to be revitalized. Why would we invest dollars into expanding it into another state as opposed to better connecting the City itself to the system? Makes no sense.

The RTA oversees the CTA and Metra
Why on earth would they fund a train for Indiana