SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate voted 51-2 Thursday to create the Illinois and Midwest High Speed Rail Commission, a panel designated to recommend "the best governmental structure to design, build, operate, maintain and finance" a high-speed rail system in Illinois and the rest of the Midwest.

Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Cicero, hailed the Senate's approval of the legislation. "With this historic bill, Illinois would become only the third U.S. state officially planning for world-class bullet trains," said Sandoval, chair of the Senate transportation committee.

The legislation now moves to the House.

Supporters of the commission have promoted the idea of trains traveling up to 220 mph along a route from St. Louis to Chicago, by way of Springfield, Decatur, Champaign and Kankakee.

"We must give Illinois the means of competing on a global scale in coming years," Sandoval said. "Bullet trains will erase the distances between our business, research and government capitals by putting Urbana and Champaign less than 45 minutes from Chicago and Springfield."

In Thursday's roll call, Sens. Mike Frerichs, D-Urbana; Bill Brady, R-Bloomington; and Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, all voted yes. Sen. Dale Righter, R-Charleston, did not vote.

The legislation (SB 2571) calls for creating a 15-member commission, including 12 appointed by the governor, plus the Illinois secretary of transportation, the director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the head of the tollway authority. Any report from the commission must include recommended sources of funding including revenue bonds and private sources. The report is due by March 20, 2011.