Crain's Chicago Business, 4/14:
Illinois asks feds for $200 million for Southwest Side rail work
Southwest Side motorists may soon find their commutes a little easier.
In an unannounced but significant step, the Illinois Department of Transportation yesterday applied for $200 million in federal grants to unsnarl traffic at three locations where cars and buses often have to wait for freight trains to rumble through.
There's no guarantee the state actually will get the money for the work, part of the long-pending but only partially funded CREATE freight rail decongestion program. But Congressman Dan Lipinski, D-Chicago, says he's "optimistic" the state will get at least two and maybe all three of the projects approved. . . .
