“Chicago is the hub of the Midwest,” one signer, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President Jack Lavin, told me in a phone interview. “If we get high-speed rail and more investment, it’s good for us.” The letter specifically endorses a “vision statement” Amtrak released after Biden included $80 billion for the passenger carrier and other railroads in his $2 trillion infrastructure plan. Also signing the letter were the Environmental Law & Policy Center and the Illinois AFL-CIO. Included on Amtrak's wish list are improvements on existing service from Chicago to St. Louis, faster speeds and decreased travel time between Chicago and the home of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, upgrades on lines to Milwaukee and Detroit, and new service to the Quad Cities and Rockford.