Midwest High-Speed Rail Summit
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Senator Richard Durbin/ Midwest Governors
- The Governors of the State of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin and the City of Chicago sent a letter to the U. S. Department of Transportation indicating their mutual support for high-speed rail in the region and expressing their willingness to work together to advance their applications for funding for high-speed rail through ARRA.
In July 2009, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn was joined by Senator Richard Durbin and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to host Midwest Governors and rail executives at the Midwest High Speed Rail Summit in Chicago. Governors attending the summit included: Iowa Governor Chet Culver; Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle; Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.
The Governors and Mayor Daley announced an agreement between the eight states and the City of Chicago to work cooperatively to achieve funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to develop the Midwest corridor. Eight Midwest states signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in support of high-speed rail including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Mayor Daley also signed the MOU on behalf of the City of Chicago. Participant states agree upon, support and understand the importance of a nationwide network including a Chicago Hub that would connect trains traveling up to 110 miles per hour serving cities across the region, along with connections to adjoining regional corridors. The MOU also created the Midwest High-Speed Rail Steering Group, to which each MOU signatory appointed one senior-level official as a voting representative to the group.
