When she testified before three members of Congress on Tuesday, Democratic State Representative Elaine Nekritz, D- Northbrook, said the federal government hasn't budgeted money to passenger trains since 2010.
She says Illinois was forced to come up with the needed $10 million on its own.
But U.S. Representative Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, says Congress was supposed to hear Illinois' ideas for revenue sources.
"Well, we didn't. But as you saw when we ended the hearing, I said I want to hear what it is you think is going to work. And that's the message we need to send back to them." -Rep. Rodney Davis
Davis says Illinois needs a consistent way to generate money for endeavors like theplan to link Chicago to St. Louis with high-speed rail.
Illinois transportation secretary Ann Schneider says the feds have their own speeding up to do, when it comes to making decisions about the high-speed rail project.
The federal transportation fund has an $8 billion deficit.
Illinois Public Radio's Chris Slaby contributed to this report.