
By Adam Studzinski
BLOOMINGTON – State Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) said he and other downstate representatives worked hard to make paying downstate transit systems a priority in the last month.
The state released payments Thursday which allowed systems like Connect Transit to keep operating. Brady said he was glad to see the payments come through.
“I don’t know that applying pressure is the right word. I think that we expressed our concern that those who need transportation throughout Southern Illinois would be dramatically hampered,” Brady said.
Connect Transit gets 65 percent of its operating budget from the state. The company had said it would need to shut down its services if its state payment did not come through by the end of the year.
Brady added as long as the state has an unbalanced budget, they will need to continue having difficult discussions.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].