MOLINE, Illinois — The state of Illinois is getting an extension on the $177 million federal funding that's meant for the Quad-City to Chicago passenger rail project. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos made the announcement Thursday, Sept. 22. The extension was agreed upon by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Rail Administration.
Bustos had been pressuring Gov. Bruce Rauner to approve the extension since April 2016. The extension was approved through September 20, 2017.
"We still have a lot of work to do to ensure this project gets completed. During these tough economic times, we simply can’t afford to turn down any opportunities to create jobs and get Illinois back on the right track," said Bustos.
Through the financial uncertainty, developers moved ahead with construction of the $35-million multi-modal station and hotel in Moline called The Q.
"We wanted to make it a mixed-use building, so that it wouldn't be 100% dependent on the train, but the train is going to add that much more to it," said Ray Forsythe, Moline's planning and development director, last month.