Latest News

Vought: White House freezes $2.1 Billion in Chicago Projects

Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, said that $2.1 billion worth of Chicago infrastructure projects have been put on hold. This was another jab against a Democrat led city during the U.S. Government shutdown. Vought stated that $2.1 billion in funding for two major Chicago subway projects - the Red Line Extension and Red and Purple Modernization Project - "has been put on hold" to prevent funding from flowing through race-based contracts.

Vought stated on Wednesday that the Trump Administration had frozen $18 billion in major transit projects for New York including the Hudson Tunnel, and the Second Avenue Subway citing the exact same issue.

In its final days, the outgoing administration under former President Joe Biden awarded a nearly two billion dollar award to extend the Red Line by 5.5 miles in order to connect Chicago Far South Side with the L system.

Vought cited the new Transportation Department rule that went into effect on Wednesday. The rule is intended to determine whether small business contractors are engaging in diversity initiatives that are not appropriate. This is part of a campaign to put pressure on Democratic legislators in Congress regarding the partial government shut down that began shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

USDOT announced that it would delay the $300 million reimbursement for the subway project until the review was completed, which the USDOT claimed had been hampered due to the shutdown.

New York and New Jersey will almost certainly challenge any substantive delay in federal funding due to partisan political disputes.

The $17.2 billion Hudson River Tunnel project, which has received over $11 billion of federal grants, includes repairs to the existing tunnel and construction of a brand new tunnel for Amtrak passenger trains and commuter rail lines between New Jersey, Manhattan and New Jersey.

If the Hudson Tunnel fails, the commuters in the area which produces 10% of America's economy would be hampered.

(source: Reuters)