NORMAL -- Mayors or other representatives from communities along the Chicago to St. Louis Amtrak line met Thursday in Normal to get an update on an application for federal money to bring high-speed rail service to the line.

The meeting at Illinois State University's Bone Student Center was closed to the media but included Gary Hannig, secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation; George Weber, bureau chief for the division of railroads for IDOT; Stephen Konya, chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; and Joseph Clary, director of the division of public and intermodal transportation for IDOT.

An allocation of some early money may be announced in January, said Normal City Manager Mark Peterson, but how much and what it would be used for remains unknown.

Bloomington Mayor Steve Stockton said Gov. Pat Quinn is working with eight states to present a "truly regional rail system" and get more influence in Washington.

Last month, Illinois submitted an application for more than $4 billion in high-speed rail money to improve train speeds on the Chicago-St. Louis route to 110 mph. Train now travel 79 mph on average on that route.

"We've been working on high-speed rail since the early 1990s," Stockton said. "There's been a lot of preparation; a lot of the track work is done. It's only now, with a billion dollars out there, people are saying this could actually happen."

Peterson and Normal Mayor Chris Koos also were asked to discuss the uptown redevelopment project.

"What we're doing in Normal is what the federal and state officials want to see happen along the corridor," Koos said. "The directive from the feds is that sustainable, livable communities should be developed along the corridors. They should be a priority."

Koos said Hannig discussed the importance of rail service as part of the state and national transportation policy.

Konya reported that studies show economic development and jobs follow transportation, Stockton said.

"He estimated 41,000 jobs would be created by high-speed rail development in Illinois," Stockton said. "When you're in the midst of a recession, talk about creating jobs is very appealing."