Chicago needs cash.

In Chicago there is a train system referred to as the El or the L. It contains 1,190 rail cars and 222 miles of track. It is the second largest to New York City. It boasted 195 million riders last year. The system is in a bad state of disrepair and needs money. Unfortunately its finances are under a system that has not changed since 1983. There are delays daily and many people’s travel times are increasing. The railroad system is in need of 15.8 billion dollars to restore the system to good repair.


The situation in Chicago today can be contrasted to the system of railroads in the Gilded Age. The Chicagoans are asking for money from the government for repairs because they are overcrowded and in poor condition. Business giants in the Gilded Age had plenty money to build railroads but they were building too many. The Captains of Industry took advantage of the railroad companies who were going out of business fighting for customers. Today in Chicago railroads are overcrowded and undersupplied.