To keep the Chicago area competitive, our rails, roads and airways need regular investment in their maintenance and sensible expansion. However, without money to nourish the system, the whole region weakens. Recent passage of federal legislation to finance transportation improvements in Illinois and around the country provides a much needed funding infusion. But even with the new federal dollars, the state and northeastern Illinois still lack the money to complete critical transportation improvements.
Given our troubled budget climate, Business Leaders for Transportation urges the State of Illinois to use Public-Private Partnerships aggressively to build and maintain vital transportation infrastructure. Specifically, we recommend that, in the 2006 legislative session, the state adopt legislation that would enable Partnerships to play a strong role in transportation investments. Chicago's Skyway transaction and numerous other national and international projects have shown that Public-Private Partnerships are a sound method for building and maintaining vital transportation infrastructure. Creative use of private capital can minimize the need for governments to raise new revenue and take on new debt, thus freeing up limited resources for other priorities.
To illustrate their viability, Business Leaders for Transportation conducted an evaluation of Public-Private Partnerships using the proposed Elgin-O'Hare Extension/O'Hare Bypass project as a case study. Our preliminary analysis demonstrates that a Public-Private Partnership for this project could generate sufficient toll revenues to attract private investors at a level that would finally make the long-desired project achievable.
Since the late 19th century, railroads, waterways, public transit, and roads have helped catalyze economic growth in our region. Ongoing investment in critical transportation infrastructure has been essential to metropolitan Chicago's emergence and continued status as a leader in the national economy and as a global transportation hub.
To make the region work and maintain our position as a global commerce center and tourism destination, we must be prepared to invest in the transportation systems that have made us so successful.