Back in 1988, the Rockford-formed rock band Cheap Trick topped the charts with the power ballad “The Flame.”
Similarly, the Illinois Department of Transportation is still carrying a torch that service on the long-awaited Metra route between the Forest City and Chicago will launch by the end of next year, as predicted.
However, the commuter railroad’s executive director Jim Derwinski poured water on that notion, expressing skepticism about IDOT’s ability to meet that deadline.
In a first for the Chicago region, IDOT is constructing the new line, and Metra will operate the service under contract with the transportation department. The extension was made possible by Rebuild Illinois funds, and the State will provide a regular subsidy to keep it going…