Rep. Hamos promises legislature will cough up cash for CTA
The Tribune reports today that State Rep. Julie Hamos, chair of the House Committee on Mass Transit, has vowed that she would "ensure that funding to close the [CTA] deficit would be included in the final budget presented to the governor."
That's great news for us CTA passengers worried that the transit agency will follow through on its threat to reduce weekday service to Sunday levels.
Hamos has been a true leader on this subject. I know her personally, and she is smart and knows how to get things done. So we can trust her on this one. She recently proposed restructuring transportation services for the disabled to provide a short-term solution and avoid the CTA cuts.
The idea is for the state to take over the $50 million program and then charge Medicaid for the services to recoup most of the money. The CTA is $55 million in the red, so that idea should just about do it.
I hope the legislature takes charge of hiring CTA upper level management as well. It's way past time for Ritchie Daley to quit using it as a dumping ground for useless people with clout. Hire people who know how to run a transit system! How difficult is that?
Posted by: Cheryl | May 01, 2005 at 05:23 PM
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Posted by: Anthony | May 01, 2005 at 07:27 PM
Well said, Cheryl. Well said!
Posted by: Kevin | May 01, 2005 at 09:30 PM