Dear supporter, We have received more news coverage in two local newspapers, the Northern Star and Daily Chronicle. http://northernstar.info/opinion/dekalb-needs-metra-station/article_7bb1095a-01d5-11e7-a506-c38ef81da7da.html http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2017/03/02/petition-started-to-bring-metra-to-dekalb-cost-one-of-biggest-obstacles/aj7d4hy/ Northern Public Radio did a little nice piece: http://northernpublicradio.org/post/some-dekalb-residents-petitioning-metra-expansion To have Metra commuter rail service, DeKalb County must become a part of the Regional Transportation Authority and contribute a sales tax to the agency. Getting to the RTA is an obstacle by itself, because it was not planned to be expanded beyond Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties. There is some work local politicians need to do! “Other major university towns in a Illinois have Metra service, we need it to stay competitive and grow. It would be utilized regularly, and the increased traffic to Dekalb would offset any increased tax concerns of the older and more timid residents.” Trent Rockwood While getting the train station back in service will cause a tax increase, it will also increase local property values. Do not forget the economic growth, higher student population, less road maintenance fees due to reduction of the car traffic, better air quality, and many other benefits that counteract it. NIU remains the only major public university in Illinois without public transportation access. Some counterpoints against the passenger station include a possibility of crime increase. However, the recent crime rate spike in DeKalb and Sycamore clearly demonstrates that it is independent of having a train station.It simply means if someone wants to commit a crime, he or she will drive and not take the public transportation where hundreds of people can see you. The experience of the cities and towns where train stations are operational also show that proactive measures by local police departments can entirely minimize the potential risks. In a separate development, Metra Rail has finally responded to our petition. Due to major shortage of capital, Metra says the service extension to DeKalb is not possible and instead the company is focusing on maintaining the existing routes. Dekalb-Sycamore Area Transportation Study initiative and NIU VP Mr. Heckmann welcomed our petition and will include it in the upcoming Transportation Plan. The goal is to organize an affordable, frequent shuttle bus service to Elburn. Please read the full response from Metra below: Thank you for your email regarding the possibility of extending Metra service to DeKalb. At this time, unfortunately, service expansions on the Metra system are not possible due to a major shortfall of capital dollars. Right now, we are concentrating on maintaining the system we have – and we are short of money to even do that. The RTA, in fact, estimates Metra needs $12 billion over the next 10 years to achieve and maintain a state of good repair on our existing system, and we can optimistically expect about a fifth to a fourth of that from our traditional funding sources. We cannot provide you a timeline of when that may change. Regards, Metra Some interesting numbers. Population of the nearest Metra stops (2013): Elburn 6000 La Fox n/a Geneva 22000 West Chicago 28000 Winfield 9500 Wheaton 54000 Glen Ellyn 28000 Lombard 44000 Villa Park 22000 Elmhurst 46000 Berkeley 5200 Bellwood 19000 Melrose Park 26000 DeKalb/Sycamore 44000 + 18000 = 62000 people! DeKalb is one of the largest cities along the Union Pacific West line. How come DeKalb doesn’t have a Metra stop yet? We thank you for your continued support for improving our public transportation system. We can do this! Sincerely, Jane Rogers