Old Morris train station could reprise its role along Chicago-to-Peoria line

It’s still around 10 years down the road, but the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce and the Grundy County Corn Festival may need to find a new home when work on the prospective Chicago-to-Peoria rail line begins.

It’s a good location and creates opportunity for the downtown, according to Morris Business Development Director Julie Wilkinson.

“We haven’t had accessibility for people that want to travel into the city or people from the city that want to travel here and access what we have,” Wilkinson said. “I just think it’s going to create some connectivity that we just don’t have and that’s going to open some doors.”

Wilkinson said the prospective location at 909 Liberty Street, currently the home to the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce, the offices of the Grundy County Corn Festival and the Morris Herald-News, will work in the downtown’s favor since more people will be in and out of local businesses.

Community Affairs Director Stan Knudson said one thing people need to remember is this will be an added fold of the transportation for city residents. Not everyone can drive, and not everyone wants to drive.

“This is going to open up not only from a business perspective, but I think, from a residential perspective,” Knudson said. “We’re gonna have a lot more people willing to locate here because they can commute to different areas of the state.”

Knudson also pointed out that the area has a lot to offer, and the train can be used for more than just traveling to Chicago or Peoria. If someone from Morris wants to visit Starved Rock, they’ll be able to hop on a train and avoid the typically-crowded parking situation.

“Then there’s athletic events, concerts, stage performances and theater,” Knudson said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for the people that live here to go to Chicago and Peoria, and we’ve got some wonderful venues and acts here for people traveling here.”

Cindy Loos, with Hanson Professional Services, said it’s still early in the planning process. The open house meeting on Thursday is a way to ensure the public is informed during the process. There are two potential locations for a train station in Morris, although the second location is on the north side of the tracks across from the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce.

Staying on the south side of the track would be better, as it would prevent people coming into town from having to cross the tracks to get into town.

Loos said the early estimates on the total cost of the project is $2.5 billion, but it’s still too early to claim that as a set price.