CTA Tattler

Wasn't that one of the critizisms from the state audit....the huge debt to the state pension fund. Both my parents work for the state (my dad just retired) and say the work load and pay was better under Ryan. They have seen a pay cut of 4% and no raise for the past 3 years mostly because of the crisis in the pension fund. My mom doesn't drive and takes the CTA everywhere and she'd rather see her bus line get cut than her pension depleted.

Okay, so the government MAY have found a way out of the crunch... but how long till we go through this all over again? Or worse, how long till Carole and company decide that they need an excuse to cut all of the commuter express runs and look for something less likely to be deflated than a budget crisis? They're already having problems with the newer articulated buses, I can so easily see them citing a significant lack of hardware to maintain current service levels...

Yeah, I'm getting really cynical about this whole thing. Maybe it's time to find a job in the suburbs so I don't have to worry about it anymore...

I couldn't help but notice on the news last night that on the same night the CTA is being bailed out through the pension fund & education is getting less funding than it needs, that they also announced that the project to sand all the little lines out of "The Bean" is overtime and over-budget...but they'll keep working on it. It seems like there are some priorities seriously askew.

That being said, I had already started shopping for cars, and find myself relieved that -- for the time being -- my CTA ride seems to still be a viable option & I won't have to add to the congestion!

The bean is being paid for by private and corporate money I believe. Also, the City and CTA are fairly separate entities, the latter is calling on the state rather than the city for funding.

The City coughed up about $3mil for the CTA while The Bean and Millennium Park have, to date, sucked up about $475mil in private and public funding. The City tapped the Central Loop TIF to the tune of about $95mil to fill in the gaps in paying for their little showplace. If not used by 2007, TIF funds get funnelled into the park district, public schools and Cook County. It seems to me that the schools could use that money alot more than The Bean.

I know that balancing a budget is no easy task, and I know that the money is all in separate little jars. My point is that I think the people in this state and this city would prefer it if government rearranged how the money in the little jars is allocated. We like quality education for our children, security in our retirement and a safe reliable public transportation system a lot more than we like the novelty of our distorted reflection in a giant silver jelly belly.

yes, the entire cost of this upkeep for the bean is paid by private trusts; the city will not be responsible for these huge costs. it's already double the original pricetag, with guys working 20+ hours a day to get it "perfect".

The Bean will more than pay for itself. It is an investment in taking the money out of the pockets of out-of-towners and putting it into the pockets of Illinoisans. Every cent they put into the pot is one less I have to put in. The Bean is a good investment. If you don't do things like the Bean and Millenium Park, you become Detroit.

Besides, we all laugh at $23 for Manhattan because the value of the investment increased and the value of a dollar dropped. 100 years from now there will be a Millenium Park, possibly with the Bean still in it. Think the odd $17 M will seem ridiculous then?

P.S. Don't get me wrong. I love the bean. But if we can support the bean, we need to support the people who need to get to their daily grind.

So I read the amazingly dense Julie Hamos transit committee report. The most stunning thing is that Chicago pays like $650 million for CTA, and gets $650 million. The cook county suburbs pay more than $100 million than they get -- and where does that money go? To the collar counties (dupage, mchenry, etc.), who get $100 million more transit than they pay for. Whoever put this thing together figured out how to really screw cook county.