CTA Tattler

I wish the mayor had spoken out with basically the same speech he gave yesterday a YEAR AGO. Had he stepped up like he did yesterday and demanded action, we might not be down to the wire right now. Julie Hamos also delivered an excellent speech and was very direct and to the point.

The bigger mystery is why this rally was not front page news Monday. A lot more than 200 people should have showed up. I was hoping enough people filled that plaza that it overflowed onto the bordering streets. It wouldn't have taken thousands, it is a small plaza, but if there had been street closures due to the numbers of people coming out to show support, it might have sent an even louder message.

Ed, the mayor DID speak out a year ago, he said "transit has no constituency" and I doubt he truly believes differently today.

Yes, I know, that angered me too. I think he might finally realize that transit does indeed have a constituency, more than he imagined. So lets really show him and the general assembly transit riders in this region DO have a constituency....I've done my part, I've called both of my state legislators today.

Now..does anyone have a working phone number to call Rod Blagojevich's office? The ones I have aren't correct. He's the one we need to flood endlessly this week!

Just got it from a coworker. The call will take you 20 seconds to ask the Gov NOT to veto Senate Bill 572 and then give them your name.

Phone: (217) 782-0244

Anybody know what the law is in Illinois regarding impeachment of a governor and legislators?

To be fair I believe Daley's "public transit has lost its constituency" comment came eleven years ago in 1996. Still the premise is right as he was silent for far too long. Hopefully his speech at the rally leads to greater involvement from our "Green Mayor" regarding transit.

Unless I've missed something, I'd like to know where our aldermen are in all of this. Instead of worrying about bottled water and sparklers, why don't they lend their voices to something that effects the economic vitality of our City? I think once this mess is straightened out, attention should be turned to reducing the number of alderman. They are ineffective and a waste of resources. My alderman is so clueless I'm not sure she's aware the 'L" even runs through the ward and the majority of her constituents use the CTA.

They're also too busy trying to pass things that would strip the city of a signicicant amount of tax revenue, such as the big box ordinance. If that were to pass the CTA (not to mention the schools and everything else) would be deprived of an enormous amount of money annually. Tons of city residents would do their shopping in the suburbs and would give their tax money to them. Even if the state passes this sales tax increase, the big box ordinance would likely cause the CTA to complain again in a few years that it needs more money if it is going to avoid massive service cuts. The aldermen are about as idiotic as it gets. Apperently they have never been in a Target or a Wal-Mart and noticed that all the front-line workers are high school or college students. They are not exactly people who need to be protected so that they can earn a "living wage for a family of four".