ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Just before midnight Saturday, Illinois legislators passed a record-high $55.1 billion Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which includes funding for the long-gestating Rockford to Chicago passenger rail project.

Gov. JB Pritzker announced the re-establishment of the passenger rail service in 2023 at an event in Davis Park.

The $275 million project uses funds from the Rebuild Illinois capital program and will extend the service of the Milwaukee West Line and Union Pacific Rail beyond Elgin to stops in Huntley, Belvidere, and Rockford.

In September 2024, Illinois Department of Transportation officials held public meetings in Rockford to give an update on the progress of the project.

Metra will operate the train service.

Since its founding in 1984, Metra has become one of t

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