I guess there is no way to really make Amtrak improve by making a one-star review, but I think it's awful how expensive it now is to go to Chicago given the quality of the service. I live in Stockholm now and was entertaining notions of going back to Champaign to do another degree, but really...it's an isolated place if you don't have a car. It shouldn't be a big deal to go to Chicago. It shouldn't use up all my money or my patience. I've had 11 hour delays on Amtrak! Chicago is a major travel hub and the closest major city. The fact that it is so difficult to get to hurts the University.
Sweden benefits enormously from having fast, relatively cheap, and hassle-free railway. I don't have to sit on a cramped bus next to a McDonalds eating elementary school kid or endure six hour delays on a crappy train to get to places like Oslo and Copenhagen. I'm bragging now, but UIUC needs Amtrak to shape up.