agenda for a second term<\/a>,\u00a0called for\u00a0continued investment in Chicago\u2019s infrastructure. More than $7 billion have already been invested in infrastructure under Emanuel\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n\u201cThe truth is that everything we want for Chicago\u2019s future rests on doing the fundamentals,\u201d Emanuel said, speaking to more than 100 supporters Thursday, \u201cinvesting in the roads and water systems and parks and other facilities in which prosperity depends. It starts with our roads.\u201d<\/p>\n
If re-elected, Emanuel vowed to repave at least 1,200 more miles of roads. He added, if completed, his administration will have repaved nearly half of Chicago\u2019s city streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will complete the new Blue [Line] by 2019, a nearly $500 million investment in the Blue Line that will take 10 minutes off the trip from downtown to O\u2019Hare,\u201d Emanuel said.<\/p>\n
The Logan Square, Jefferson Park, Grand, Chicago, Division and Addison stations will also be upgraded. These improvements, along with the completion of the Blue Line, Emanuel said, will create 1,300 jobs.<\/p>\n
Frank Clark, retired chief executive officer of ComEd, said the mayor\u2019s plans for infrastructure will \u201ckeep Chicago viable well into the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n
The modernization of the Red Line will continue from Howard to 95th Street, adding another 5,000 jobs, Emanuel said.<\/p>\n
He added that the CTA\u2019s bus fleet will also be overhauled \u2014 300 new buses and 1,000 more rehabbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will also continue our major investment in expanding parks and recreational areas,\u201d Emanuel said.<\/p>\n
A recent analysis by the City of Chicago, along with the Civic Consulting Alliance, the Global Economics Group and the Roland Berger Strategy Consultants\u00a0found that a home located within two blocks of a Chicago park has, on average, a 1.5 percent higher property value.<\/p>\n
Finally, the mayor emphasized that Union Station must be renovated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the third busiest rail terminal in the United States with roughly 120,000 passengers served each day, Union Station is more than just a train station,\u201d Emanuel said, \u201cit is one of the engines driving Chicago\u2019s continued growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The station currently suffers from leaky roofs and overcrowded platforms, he said, resulting, at times, in unsafe travel conditions.<\/p>\n
Thomas Donovan, the former president and CEO of the Chicago Board of Trade, said Emanuel\u2019s plans for infrastructure were \u201cvery good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he has the personal wherewithal and fortitude to make things happen,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cHe has a vision, but he is also an implementer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Matt Yurus Campaigning before the City Club of Chicago\u2019s guests and members, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that Chicago needs a \u201c21st century foundation\u201d to maintain a \u201c21st century economy.\u201d Emanuel\u2019s speech, which was his fifth and final speech concerning his agenda for a second term,\u00a0called for\u00a0continued investment in Chicago\u2019s infrastructure. More than $7 billion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-affairs","category-winter-2015"],"yoast_head":"\n
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