Sen. Dick Durbin and transportation officials from around Illinois have laid out their priorities for a long-term national transportation funding bill

At the top of the list is preserving a portion of the federal gasoline tax to be a guaranteed source of money for mass transit. They also want to avoid cuts in federal aid for Amtrak. Both items were threatened in a House version of the bill that failed to pass. Durbin discussed the issue Wednesday during a roundtable meeting at Chicago's Union Station. He was joined by representatives from the Chicago Transit Authority, Amtrak, Metra, Pace, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Regional Transportation Authority.

Negotiations on the funding bill are to begin Tuesday among a conference committee of House and Senate members that includes Durbin.