I’m very glad to hear that Gov. Edgar has proposed a long term funding solution for Amtrak. but I get disgusted when people like our current state representative, Mike Bost, try to avoid responsibility for their inaction on this issue.

Anyone who has been following this issue knows that Amtrak hit the front pages when Gov. Edgar publicly stated that he was not inclined to save Amtrak because he had not heard from down state legislators about the need to save this service. In fact, a Chicago Tribune article, dated Jan. 8, 1996, says, Edgar said down state lawmakers and communities have shown little interest in keeping the trains operating.

Yet in a recent article discussing Amtrak and the race for the 115th district representative seat, Rep. Bost was confronted with this information and responded by saying that Edgar never made that statement! Either Mr. Bost was lying, or he is less informed on this issue than I had imagined.

Advertisement

Mr. Bost was nowhere to be found on this issue until it heated up in the press. But once it started getting a lot of attention, he was more than willing to get his share of ink out of the problem. That’s not leadership, it’s opportunism, and it’s a disgrace.