{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-durbin-quigley-announce-more-than-81-million-in-additional-federal-funding-for-the-create-program", "Duckworth, Durbin, Quigley Announce More than $81 Million in Additional Federal Funding for the CREATE Program", "2024-10-18", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "IL", "Tammy Duckworth", "D000622", "www.duckworth.senate.gov", "duckworth", "https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL-05) today announced $81,301,065 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) INFRA (Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects) Program for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program, which aims to reduce traffic delays, increase rail junction safety, and improve mobility throughout Chicago.\n\nDOT\u2019s INFRA Grant Program provides federal funding for large projects of regional significance and is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that the lawmakers worked to pass in 2021.\n\nLast month, Durbin, Duckworth, and Quigley announced $209 million in federal funding for the CREATE Program through DOT\u2019s Mega Grant Program, bringing the total with today\u2019s announced funding to $291,179,049.\n\n\u201cInvesting in our transportation infrastructure is about growing our economy and making it easier, faster, safer and more efficient so people and goods can get where they need to go,\u201d Duckworth said. \u201cThis significant federal investment in the CREATE Program\u2014which Senator Durbin, members of the Illinois Delegation and I have been championing for years\u2014will help us modernize our rail system for all Chicagoans while supporting good-paying South Side jobs and strengthening our region\u2019s economy.\u201d\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s additional funding announcement is a major investment in the future of our transportation infrastructure. Chicagoans will be better connected because of the CREATE Program, which will improve the safety and quality of our rail system and roadways,\u201d said Durbin. \u201cSenator Duckworth, members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, and I have long supported these investments, and I\u2019m glad to see these federal dollars go toward improving safety and alleviating congestion in a region that desperately needs it.\u201d\n\n\"The CREATE Program is fundamentally changing rail operations in Chicago for both commuters and freight. Last month, we secured $209 million in funding for this program. Today\u2019s announcement marks another significant step toward fulfilling CREATE\u2019s mission to improve safety, alleviate congestion, and boost mobility throughout our city,\u201d said Quigley.\n\nThe CREATE Program brings together the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Metra, Amtrak, and the nation\u2019s freight railroads in a partnership to eliminate transit bottlenecks, boost the economy, and improve overall safety of the Chicagoland area.\n\nToday\u2019s announced funding will advance the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, a three-mile elevated rail corridor on Chicago\u2019s South Side, which approximately 90 freight trains and 30 Metra commuter trains use daily. The project will reconfigure track segments and signals at Belt Junction, add a third track to the Norfolk Southern line, replace and restore 14 aging bridge and viaduct structures, and implement mobility improvements on surface streets throughout the corridor.\n\nDurbin and Duckworth have long championed rail improvements, having helped secure $132 million in federal funding to begin this project in 2018.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:55:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-durbin-quigley-announce-more-than-81-million-in-additional-federal-funding-for-the-create-program"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3936769682914019, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}