Political Quotes

“I rise today to recognize a group of American workers celebrating an impressive anniversary this month. On July 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act into law and set the Nation on a course to complete the transcontinental railroad. Less than a year later, in 1863, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen was founded to represent the thousands of individuals working to build one of the largest infrastructure projects in the history of this country. In the century and a half since, the rail industry has served as the lifeblood of rural America, a critical player in our Nation's transportation network, and as one of the largest private employers in the United States. My home State of Illinois, both then and now, has relied heavily on strong rail infrastructure to propel us forward. From my hometown of East St. Louis and across our State, railroads have written our history. As one of the first States in the union to embrace freight rail and rail travel, we saw Chicago grow, spoke by spoke and mile after magnificent mile, into the metropolis it is today. And with more lines of track radiating in more directions than anywhere else in the Nation, it's hard to imagine our great city without its railroads. Even today, we are continuing our long tradition with the construction of a high-speed rail network that is both innovative and important to Illinois' economy and future competitiveness.…”