As Midwestern communities continue to grow, public officials propose new roads to alleviate the increased traffic congestion. Unfortunately, studies have shown that building new roads increases rather than decreases the amount of traffic by allowing more commuters to chose driving over mass transit and by increasing urban sprawl.

Despite the evidence showing the benefits of rail travel and the increase in demand by the public, Amtrak, the nation’s intercity passenger train system, continues to suffer from a lack of funding.

Midwest trains drew record passengers in 2006. Amtrak's Hiawatha service, which runs between Milwaukee and Chicago, served an estimated 588,036 passengers, up 8.2 percent from 2005. In Michigan, Ann Arbor saw a 22 percent growth in Amtrak riders. In Illinois, new train service began in November to huge passenger volumes. Amtrak’s Illini route, for example, saw a 75 percent growth in December as compared to the prior December. In Washington, the U.S. Senate is considering legislation to provide needed investments in Amtrak and high-speed rail.

Joining us at our February 8^th meeting to discuss the future of rail travel and high speed rail in the Midwest will be Kevin Brubaker from the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC). Our meeting, which will start at 7:30 PM with a time for socializing and refreshment, will be held at the Lombard Commons, 433 E. St. Charles Road, Lombard. Presentations by our guest will start promptly at 8 PM. 

Kevin Brubaker is a member of the staff at the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) and is the Project Manager for the Midwest High Speed Rail Network Project and is also the Director of Operations with financial management and organizational administrative responsibilities. Mr. Brubaker served as the Principal Policy Associate and Deputy chief of Staff to Governor Sundlun of Rhode Island, and as the Associate Director of Save the Bay an environmental advocacy group. He was also the Outreach Director for the Committee for the National Institute for the Environment.

The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) is the Midwest's leading public interest environmental advocacy organization working to achieve cleaner energy resources and implement sustainable energy strategies, promote innovative and efficient transportation and land use approaches that produce cleaner air and more jobs, and develop sound environmental management practices that conserve natural resources and improve the quality of life in our communities. One of ELPC’s premises is that environmental progress and economic development can be achieved together. The ELPC’s projects around the Midwest put that policy belief into practice.

ELPC’s multidisciplinary staff of public interest attorneys, M.B.A. financial analysts, public policy advocates and communications specialists bring a strong and effective combination of skills to solve environmental problems. They are "public interest environmental entrepreneurs," identifying opportunities to improve environmental quality in the Midwest and then working actively to develop and achieve the potential benefits. The Midwest High-Speed Rail Network and Recycled Paper Coalition projects exemplify this approach. ELPC also provides key legal and technical resources to local environmental groups through a combination of legal representation, economic analysis and public policy research.

ELPC was founded in 1993 after a yearlong strategic planning process sponsored by seven major foundations. The ELPC meets two long-term needs in the Midwest: (1) increased public interest legal, economic and scientific resources devoted to important environmental and energy policy issues; and (2) a strategic regional perspective as energy, transportation, and forests and land conservation issues are increasingly regional in scope, complex and require coordinated strategies to shape public policy. ELPC brings a new form of creative public advocacy that effectively links environmental progress and economic development in Midwestern communities

All DuPage Democratic Club meetings are open to the general public. We welcome and encourage attendance by individuals of all political views and affiliations.

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