Public Act 093-1004
 
HB2587 Enrolled LRB093 06483 JAM 06608 b

    AN ACT concerning the Department of Transportation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Department of Transportation Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding
Section 2705-321 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 2705/2705-321 new)
    Sec. 2705-321. Illinois Transit Ridership and Economic
Development (TRED) Pilot Project Program; new facilities and
service.
    (a) Subject to appropriation, the Department of
Transportation shall establish the Illinois Transit Ridership
and Economic Development (TRED) Pilot Project Program to build
transit systems that more effectively address the needs of
Illinois workers, families, and businesses. The Illinois TRED
Pilot Project Program shall provide for new or expanded mass
transportation service and facilities, including rapid
transit, rail, bus, and other equipment used in connection with
mass transit, by the State, a public entity, or 2 or more of
these entities authorized to provide and promote public
transportation in order to increase the level of service
available in local communities, as well as improve the quality
of life and economic viability of the State of Illinois.
    The Illinois TRED Pilot Project Program expenditures for
mass transportation service and facilities within the State
must:
        (1) Improve the economic viability of Illinois by
    facilitating the transportation of Illinois residents to
    places of employment, to educational facilities, and to
    commercial, medical, and shopping districts.
        (2) Increase the frequency and reliability of public
    transit service.
        (3) Facilitate the movement of all persons, including
    those persons who, because of age, economic circumstance,
    or physical infirmity, are unable to drive.
        (4) Contribute to an improved environment through the
    reduction of air, water, and noise pollution.
    (b) Under the Illinois TRED Pilot Project Program, subject
to appropriation, the Department shall fund each fiscal year,
in coordination and consultation with other government
agencies that provide or fund transportation services, the
Illinois Public Transportation Association, and transit
advocates, projects as specified in subsection (c). Total
funding for each project shall not exceed $500,000 and the
funding for all projects shall not exceed $4,500,000. The
Department shall submit annual reports to the General Assembly
by March 1 of each fiscal year regarding the status of these
projects, including service to constituents including local
businesses, seniors, and people with disabilities, costs, and
other appropriate measures of impact.
    (c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall make
grants to any of the following in order to create:
        (1) Two demonstration projects for the Chicago Transit
    Authority to increase services to currently underserved
    communities and neighborhoods, such as, but not limited to,
    Altgeld Gardens, Pilsen, and Lawndale.
        (2) (Blank.)
        (3) The Intertownship Transportation Program for
    Northwest Suburban Cook County, which shall complement
    existing Pace service and involve cooperation of several
    townships to provide transportation services for senior
    and disabled residents across village and township
    boundaries that is currently not provided by Pace and by
    individual townships and municipalities.
        (4) RIDES transit services to Richland and Lawrence
    Counties to extend transit services into Richland and
    Lawrence Counties and enhance service in Wayne, Edwards,
    and Wabash Counties that share common travel patterns and
    needs with Lawrence and Richland counties. Funding shall be
    used to develop a route structure that shall coordinate
    social service and general public requirements and obtain
    vehicles to support the additional service.
        (5) Peoria Regional Transportation Initiative, which
    shall fund the development of a plan to create a regional
    transportation service in the Peoria-Pekin MSA that
    integrates and expands the existing services and that would
    allow local leaders to develop a funding plan and a
    timetable to secure final political approval. The plan is
    intended to facilitate regional economic development and
    provide greater mobility to workers, senior citizens, and
    people with disabilities.
        (6) Rock Island MetroLINK/Black Hawk College
    Coordination Project, which shall increase mobility for
    lower income students to access educational services and
    job training on the metropolitan bus system, which will
    better link community college students with transportation
    alternatives.
        (7) The West Central Transit District to serve Scott
    and Morgan Counties. Funding shall be used to develop a
    route structure that shall coordinate social service and
    general public requirements and obtain vehicles to support
    the service.
        (8) Additional community college coordination
    projects, which shall increase mobility for lower income
    students to access educational services and job training on
    any Champaign-Urbana MTD and Danville Mass Transit bus
    routes, which will better link community college students
    with transportation alternatives.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/24/2004