Fla. High Speed Rail Funds Go To Illinois
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami.com) - The $2 billion in high-speed rail funding rejected by Florida Governor Rick Scott is turning into a treasure chest for other states, most notably Illinois.
The state's senators were informed Wednesday that it would receive $186 million of the Florida dollars to help improve a Chicago-to-St. Louis high speed rail line, according to the Huffington Post.
The state has received in total more than $1.186 billion for the line.
Democratic Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said the state would turn the money around and use it to create jobs and encourage economic development along the planned rail line.
Florida's unemployment remains in double digits and despite pleas from both parties and thousands of jobs promised by private employers, Scott was unmoved and happily rejected the money.
And the money may keep coming to Illinois and other states. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, only $400 million of the $2 billion has been reallocated and multiple grant applications are still in the pipeline for the Department of Transportation.
