The Train to Nowhere Departing at a Leisurely Pace

Remember back to the Stimulus/Bailout/spend our way out of a recession caused by subprime lending ad nausem era how high speed trains (faster than a speeding bullet) were going to create lots of jobs and improve our infrastructure?? Well, guess what. Several states have reviewed their budgetary state of affairs and decided now is not the time to throw more money at a system that is currently losing money. So, no bullet trains for now. But wait, the state of Illinois is spending $3bn of their existing stimulus funds on adding 3 new trains to the 5 that run between Chicago and St. Louis. Not only that, the average speed of these trains will increase from 51.2 mph to 56.8 mph!!! Woo Hoo Hold on to your hats everyone!! We'll need airline pilots to fly these rail rockets!! I wonder how much more $$$ it would take to get these trains to the magical mile a minute speed of 60 mph?? 1, 2, 4 billion?? I doubt it. There would be calls for research on the effects of breaking this subsonic barrier on the environment, no doubt about it. Never mind that tractor trailer rigs break this barrier on a daily basis. To paraphrase Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's former chief of staff and the future mayor of Chicago, "Never let an opportunity to waste taxpayers money go to waste."