About
TFIC
Transportation for Illinois Coalition (TFIC)
The "Transportation for Illinois Coalition" (TFIC) was organized to speak with one voice for all Illinois regarding transportation funding needs.
The diverse organizations that created TFIC realized that, in the end, pursuing transportation resources either parochially or regionally is divisive and ineffective.
To accomplish its goal of uniting transportation interests, TFIC has and will continue to meet with government officials at all levels and promote transportation issues throughout the state. The TFIC focuses on principles and program concepts that will enable transportation leaders to move forward with a common purpose to obtain maximum federal and state funding to meet Illinois’ infrastructure needs.
No program is more critical to the economy of Illinois than federal funding for transportation needs. From its origins as the railroad capital of the nation and its development as the hub of major east-west interstate highways, to hosting the world’s busiest airport and serving as a vital link for the nation’s water traffic, Illinois has served as the central conduit for the nation’s commerce. Thus, the economies of Illinois and the nation are inextricably related.
Illinois’ transportation system plays a pivotal role in the nation’s ability to move goods and people because of its geographic location and extensive road, rail, airport and waterway network.
The state hosts the nation’s third largest interstate highway network with five of the transcontinental interstates moving traffic through Illinois.
The Chicago region serves as the nation’s rail hub. It is the only city served by the six largest North American railroads. Every day 500 freight trains and 700 passenger trains pass through Chicago. There are 57 rail yards and 17 intermodal (rail-truck) facilities in the region. Amtrak boardings total nearly 1.2 million a year.
The Chicago region is the third busiest container-moving port in the world, behind only Hong Kong and Singapore.
Illinois ranks seventh in U.S. waterborne traffic, handling more than 114 million tons of cargo annually.
Illinois’ airport system is the second largest in the nation. O’Hare International Airport has become an international gateway and is the nation’s busiest airport with 992,471 takeoffs and landings in 2004, a 6.6 percent increase over 2003.
Public transit in Illinois handles nearly 600 million riders a year.
Maintaining its role as the transportation hub of the nation is a vital
economic strategy for Illinois. Challenges to the quality and capacity
of the Illinois transportation system are extensive and rising.
It is well documented that highway congestion in the northeastern portion of the state is the third worst in the nation.
Illinois’ rail system is in urgent need of more effective switching and efficient freight handling capacity. There is also a critical need for grade separation (overpasses and underpasses), to eliminate conflicts between trains and vehicular traffic, thus improving the safety of both road and railway systems.
Lock improvements and modernization of Illinois’ river systems will allow the state to keep pace with cargo traffic on our waterways.
Rising demand for air travel and the safety needs for people and cargo must be addressed through modernization of the Illinois airport system in ways that meet the needs of all the nation’s citizens.
In order to speak with one voice about these issues, TFIC has consciously avoided prioritizing projects or programs because to do so has, in the past, resulted in division and parochialism along modal or geographic lines.
While TFIC’s constituent groups may debate the relative importance of any specific mode of transportation, program or project, all agree that the comprehensive approach to transportation funding is the best hope for improving all transportation systems throughout the state. TFIC calls upon its elected officials in Illinois and Washington to do likewise.