Politics & Power Quote by Jerry Costello

“Extremely important” is doing a lot of political work here: it turns a train line into an economic lifeline, a framing that makes funding feel less like discretionary spending and more like basic infrastructure triage. Costello’s intent is straightforward - justify federal dollars for Amtrak by anchoring it to Southern Illinois jobs, mobility, and regional competitiveness. But the craft is in how he spreads ownership. He doesn’t promise to “get funding” so much as to “work with” a coalition: state and local leaders, colleagues in Congress. That’s both an accountability shield and a signal to constituents that he’s playing the insider game required to keep services alive.

The subtext is that “full service” is under threat. Politicians rarely pledge to “maintain” something unless cuts, reduced routes, or legislative skepticism is already in the air. In Amtrak debates, that threat is almost always ideological as much as fiscal: passenger rail becomes a proxy fight over rural investment, climate policy, and whether the federal government should subsidize mobility outside major metros. By casting Amtrak as an economic engine for Southern Illinois, Costello is preempting the familiar critique that rail is a coastal luxury or a money-losing nostalgia project.

The line also reflects a distinctly congressional reality: transportation funding is a churn of formulas, appropriations, and horse-trading. “Secure the necessary funding” reads like a calm reassurance, but it’s also a quiet admission that service exists at the mercy of annual budget politics - and that constituents should credit their representative for keeping the train on the tracks.