Local News
DeKalb CEO lobbies for I-20 rail project
Apparently reacting to pressure from the community, DeKalb County’s chief executive met this week with federal officials to explore ways to get rail service in south DeKalb.
CEO Burrell Ellis recently joined U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, to lobby the U.S. Department of Transportation for help in paying for the $522 million project to extend the east rail line along Interstate 20. No action was taken.
A penny sales tax up for a vote this summer would raise just $225 million and cover express buses, not train service.
That disparity has drew criticism from county commissioners, south DeKalb residents and groups such as the DeKalb NAACP, which may threaten the referendum’s success.
