Walk, ride all the way to Joliet?

"The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road,

"The Rock Island Line is the road to ride . . . "

Folk artist Leadbelly once sang in praise of the old Rock Island railroad, which started in Chicago.

Now Collins T. Fitzpatrick, an avid cyclist and executive of the 7th Judicial Circuit, is singing a new Rock Island song. Fitzpatrick heads the Beverly Improvement Association, which advocates building a biking and walking path along the Rock Island District Metra rail line from the Loop to Joliet.

The campaign gained urgency this winter, when the federal government awarded $133 million to build the "Englewood flyover," a bridge to carry the north-south Metra line …