The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) issued a Notice of Funding Availability for the fourth round of the TIGER program on January 31, 2012.  The 2012 program will make available $500 million, including set-asides for rural areas and the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) credit assistance program.  U.S. DOT’s pre-application system... Read More

Private research and development (R&D) jobs have been declining in the Chicago region for the past decade according to data from the Illinois Innovation Index for February 2012.  This month's newsletter, which focuses on private R&D activity in the state, calls attention to the challenges and opportunities the region faces in industry-driven research.  GO TO 2040 ... Read More

On February 14, 2012, Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives indicated it would split the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (AEIJA) into three separate bills.  One bill would contain the core transportation provisions ( H.R. 7 ), one bill would contain the energy production provisions ( H.R. 3408 ), and the final bill would include additional finance... Read More

The U.S. House of Representatives Rule Committee will hold a hearing on the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (AEIJA) at 4:00 p.m. CST on February 14, 2012.  Several dozen amendments were submitted by the 10:00 a.m. CST deadline on February 13, including a bipartisan amendment to restore dedicated funding for the Mass Transit Account from highway user fees.  After... Read More

On Monday, February 13, 2012, President Obama sent his budget proposal for FY 2013 to Congress.  Notably, the $3.8 trillion spending plan would use savings from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to nearly double federal spending on transportation projects.  The Obama administration proposes to spend $476 billion over six years on surface transportation projects, including $50... Read More