Local Business People Support Mass Transit Initiatives
11/8/2009
THE NWI TIMES - Keith Benman
NORTHWEST INDIANA -- Business leaders continue to support bold new mass transit initiatives for Northwest Indiana even after voters' resounding defeat of just such a measure on Tuesday. Peoples Bank CEO David Bochnowski said all Northwest Indiana residents have to do is look at the northern and western Chicago suburbs to see what commuter train connections can do for a local economy, even during a recession. "There's not proof until we do it," Bochnowski said. "But what we do know (is) the areas around Chicago that have tied themselves to the city by rail, they have all, relatively speaking, prospered during the downturn." William Hasse III, president of Hasse Construction, said voters were quick to count up the short-term cost of improving mass transit, namely the income tax, but not so quick to tally up the long-term benefits. Link
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