By Adam Studzinski

NORMAL – Illinois State University President Larry Dietz spoke to a State Senate committee Tuesday morning to urge lawmakers not to cut Amtrak funding by 40 percent as the governor has proposed.

The proposal would drop Amtrak funding from $42 million to $26 million. The fear is this would be reduced service. Dietz said Amtrak is a key piece to bringing students to campus from the Chicago area.

“We enrolled our largest and most diverse freshman class in 25 years this last Fall and over half of those individuals come from Chicago and its suburbs,” he said.

Dietz added Amtrak transportation is something the university can boast when recruiting new students.

“If it’s easy to get here and the stop is literally a five minute walk from that station over to the largest residence facility we have in Watterson, and the campus, that’s a real positive aspect for folks,” Dietz said.

Dietz said the train service is not only an important transportation mode for students, it’s also a key part of development in Normal.

“Mayor (Chris) Koos was there with me, we testified together,” said Dietz. “He was talking about the economic impact that upgrading Uptown Normal has had in the community in general and that the transportation center, the Amtrak station, has been a really terrific and important part of that.”

Also testifying Tuesday were Mayors from Champaign, Urbana, Danville, and Springfield; plus an Amtrak board member and the executive director of the Illinois Municipal League.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].