And of course it is Obama himself who represented Carbondale, as its former Senator.  As one who grew up and lived his life in the west I do not expect the density of mid-sized towns along these three routes.  Will there be service for all?  I can certainly see how tying Chicago to Urbana to Carbondale with rapid rail could facilitate sharing of human resources amongst Illinois universities, although I don't know how many daily passenger miles that would generate.  Density certainly favors mass transit.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."