Broken bridges. Sun-Times reports on a federal study that finds 2,239 Illinois bridges are in need of repair. Here are the top five structurally deficient bridges by traffic volume.
- Rapid rail. Greg Hinz of Crain’s says construction begins April 5 on stretch of high-speed rail that runs roughly from Springfield to Joliet, but Illinois hopes to get more substantial federal funding for the project.
- Pension pinch. Trib reports on the financial obstacles facing one of Illinois’ largest and most generous pension plans, the Teachers’ Retirement System, which is underfunded by $40 billion.
- Wooing Wirtz. Trib reports that Wirtz Beverage, owned by the same family that owns the Blackhawks, will be getting $9.7 million in TIF funds to build a distribution center in Cicero on land that’s been an “eyesore for about 10 years.”
- Borrowing bid. Capitol Fax reports that Gov. Pat Quinn wants to borrow $2 billion to pay off health care debts. He originally pushed a much bigger borrowing plan to cover all of the state’s unpaid bills.
- Transferring a call. Sun-Timesupdates a BGA/FOX investigation of slow responses on Chicago’s West Side to 911 emergency calls. As we reported earlier with FOX, the city is redirecting non-emergency 911 calls to 311 or asking callers to register their concerns on-line.
- Four no more. Phil Kadner’s SouthtownStar columns looks at an Appellate Court ruling that Keith Price can’t hold four different elected-position jobs in south suburban Harvey. Price says he may appeal and points out that courts should be equally intolerant of other double, triple and quadruple-dippers.
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That bridge report is long on feeling and short on facts. How were the bridges assessed? Its a national organization. Why should they care about Illinois? Are there any structural engineering reports attached to the assessments?