As a business leader and member of the STAR Line Business Alliance, you understand the benefits this first-of-its-kind, suburb-to-suburb commuter line would bring to Northeastern Illinois. In addition to giving 1.6 million residents a safe reliable alternative to driving, the STAR Line will connect 100 communities and spur transit oriented development to help keep Illinois' business environment strong and healthy. However, all of this and more is at stake if the state does not pass mass transit funding legislation soon.

For the past several months, the Illinois General Assembly has been debating funding legislation that will dictate the future of Northeastern Illinois' mass transit system. Most recently, Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) introduced a $450 million transit bill to provide vital funding for the service agencies, including Metra, which would make innovative projects like the STAR Line, feasible. Rep. Hamos' bill did not come to fruition and time is running out.

If the General Assembly does not pass a mass transit bill, the service agencies will be forced to raise fares and cut services. Most importantly, it will also result in a loss of millions of dollars in federal funding set aside awaiting matching funds from the Illinois state budget for projects like the STAR Line.

You see great value in the STAR Line's benefits to our region's economic engine and your voice as a business leader will resonate loudly in Springfield. The STAR Line Business Alliance is calling on you to make your voices heard.

CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR TODAY

Help make the STAR Line a reality. Call your legislator today and urge them to pass mass transit funding legislation. Tell them the future of Northeastern Illinois depends on it.

Tell your legislator the STAR Line will:

  • Provide a safe, reliable transportation option to nearly 1.6 million residents who live in an area of high congestion
  • Give close to 1.2 million employees an alternative to driving
  • Link to major economic business centers, universities and hospitals
  • Attract new businesses eager to take advantage of access to a Metra line
  • Initially connect nearly 100 communities, filling a critical void for inter-suburban rail service and providing new service in areas currently without direct access to passenger rail service