SLOW RIDE

By Cap City

[
          
            {
              "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 1",
              "component": "11490391",
              "insertPoint": "3",
              "requiredCountToDisplay": "1",
              "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
            },{
              "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 2",
              "component": "11490392",
              "insertPoint": "7",
              "requiredCountToDisplay": "5",
              "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
            },{
              "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 3",
              "component": "11490393",
              "insertPoint": "12",
              "requiredCountToDisplay": "9",
              "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
            }
          
        ]

Call it Mosey On The Joliet Express.

We here at Illinois Times would love to accompany Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin on a demonstration of an alleged high-speed rail train scheduled to run between Joliet and Normal on Friday, but there are a couple of issues.

First, we weren’t invited. Secondly, we just don’t have the time.

According to a press release from the governor’s office, a pre-ride press conference in Joliet will start at 10:30 a.m., with a press conference on the other end scheduled for 12:45 p.m. That’s more than two hours between Q-and-A’s. Amtrak now makes the run between the two cities, which are 100 miles apart, in less than 90 minutes.

No word on whether organizers have allowed time for participants to sober up before talking to reporters – after all, the state and federal government have been spending like drunken sailors. The tab for high-speed rail between Chicago and St. Louis now stands at more than $1 billion.

Reporters, but not us, have also been invited to take the train back to Joliet from Normal, with arrival time estimated at 2:45 p.m. Of course, we could always drive between the two press conferences. The freeway seems to be working just fine.

Illinois Times has provided readers with independent journalism for almost 50 years, from news and politics to arts and culture.

Your support will help cover the costs of editorial content published each week. Without local news organizations, we would be less informed about the issues that affect our community..

Click here to show your support for community journalism.