Photo by David Wilson

Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey has encouraged the community and state leaders to continue to advocate for passenger rail service between Rockford and Chicago.

At a recent press conference, Morrissey said the cancellation of proposed Amtrak service is “premature.” He said that it is not a lost cause and that “we need to prepare for every opportunity and challenge that may occur in the next few weeks” in order to make it a reality.

Former Gov. Pat Quinn proposed spending $225 million on improvements to railroad tracks linking Rockford and Belvidere and allowing Amtrak service. But Gov. Bruce Rauner suspended that effort this year.

This week, Rep. John Cabello said Ray Lang, an Amtrak representative, told him that the rail service is not coming. The mayor counters that it was never in the state budget, and he holds out hope that things could change quickly as part of the political process.