CTA Tattler

What's even more depressing than this news (I especially like the "baloney" remark -- so glad the House is happily complicit in wasting taxpayers' time and money) is the comments on the Trib article. The whole thread is full of poo-slinging generalizations, from the guy telling farmers to get back in their mud (obviously a guy who's never actually met a farmer) to the guy demanding that we plonk a casino in the poorest part of Chicago, the global-warming slapfight and the "so glad I don't live there, ha-ha" taunting.

I tell you what, everyone's peace and understanding and compassion with other points of view really warms my heart at this time of year. And the Governor's concern over the issue being such that he had to leave early to pop over to the UC to watch a Hawks game (Sun-Times: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/673056,CST-NWS-leg29.article)... well, I'm glad he's got his constitutency's best interests as his top concern. Maybe he took the #20 bus back from the game to catch a train to the airport... ah, my fantasy world is great, isn't it?

I'm so tired of this mess. Dude, I just want to get to work on time!

I continue to be amazed (as if I couldn't be amazed anymore) at the absolute incompetence shown by our elected leaders on the issue of mass transit funding. Don't they realize that people's freaking livelihoods are at stake? Obviously they do, but they don't give a [deleted].

All I can say is, after Bill Cosby, "Come on, people!" This mess is just sickening, and to know that Blaggie jumped the special session to go to a Hawks game (probably in his phalanx of 20 SUVs), is even more disturbing. What is it going to take to get the funding passed? A miracle, I think.

Oh, oops. He went in his taxpayer-funded private jet. That's right, Blaggie-forget your priorities, forget the fact that the Illinois economy loses 4.2 billion a year due to traffic congestion, and forget the little guy who depends on mass transit because he can't afford to drive, with gas prices being what they are. Nice job.

One positive thing out of all this is the way it's making voting easier: anyone but the incumbent. There should be a massive movement to remake this failure of a state government.

Expanding on a post from another thread: After Jan. 1st, the legislature can pass a bill with a simple majority and an immediate effective date. It's only because of an oddity in the state constitution that they need a 3/5 vote for anything passed between now and December 31st.

So as much as it pains me to say they should wait, THE HOUSE SHOULD WAIT till January 1st and then pass a good transit funding bill with an immediate effective date. We already know the bill has majority support in the House, and it probably has majority support in the senate, and the governor would presumably sign it now that the House has agreed to his prefered tax idea.

It's a tight deadline but this can be done in time for the Jan 20th deadline.

And it can be done without passing that awful capital bill. I would prefer the CTA fares go to $6/ride before that thing passes. It's immoral and all the capital funding is for roads and none of it is for transit!

The House didn't reject the bill. It just didn't approve it enough under the pre-Jan 1st legislative rules. (The vote was 57 for, and 51 against.)

The 3/5 rule is insane and should be abolished, but let's not forget that there was absolutely no reason all of this couldn't have been done last spring with a simple majority vote -- no reason, that is, except the swollen egos and corrupt souls of the governor and the legislative "leaders". They all need to be deposed ASAP by whatever means necessary.

Ghandi, I'm afraid I agree with you. Waiting 'til Jan. 1 might be the best way to go at this point. And it will have the added benefit of waking more people up to the slime pit we call Springfield, and, who knows -- maybe even finally doing something about it.

The transit problem is not the root issue, though. It is just a symptom of the need for Northeast IL to separate itself, financially or completely, from the State of Illinois. Scream all you want about Chicago and Cook, but they are models of efficiency and honesty compared with this state's "government". It's time for a parting of the ways.

I agree with Davey. The 6-county area needs to separate from the rest of Illinois. That was, the tax money we generate here STAYS HERE!

I don't see a winning solution here. I like the idea of getting a simple majority vote from the state after the 1st of January, but doesn't the self-imposed union cuts offer expire by January 1st? Missing that opportunity would probably cost the CTA(and therefore the state) more than the 11 million dollars a month it would have been saving if the state had put a budget together this year that included transit funding.

So that's what, 55 million dollars so far, that the CTA could have saved this year if funding were in place, oh let's just make that 66 million assuming it won't be in place by December 31st.

I now completely agree that everyone involved except maybe Julie Hamos, should get voted out of office, if not thrown out of office early.

It may be that the "Blizzard of Political Backlash" will occur whether or not the CTA actually has to cut half of its bus routes. (or Pace cuts and multiple Metra fare hikes for that matter)

It seems fairly unfair that the rates are going to go up by people who likely do not even ride the transit. I mean think about the environmental impact if we actually had trains and subways that worked and were more expansive and effective. I am not asserting some big conspiracy, but it seems odd that given the positive impact both on the environment and increasing the transportation and likely attractiveness of living in a city. Imagine if LA had mass transit that was both effective and useful, better yet buses and subways that were expansive and people gained some benefit from using them. It seems that we give tax credits in the thousands for green cars, why not for using public transit? does it seem that odd that the government encourage public transit by granting pseudo tax subsidies to companies that actually encourage and promote the use of public transit to get to work.

Returning to the main point, it seems a bit unfair to raise fairs and then simply sit down and wait for the sky to fall to resolve a problem for a transit system that really acts and operates as the nerve center for the great city of Chicago. Why don’t the students promote public transit? It seems odd that people are always willing to provide and promote driving directions, but there seems to be resistance to adopting green transit options for companies. I mean take Kaplan they do not provide transit directions to their centers even though most people are students and a large portion non-US citizens so non-drivers.

Anyone have any thoughts on this issue? Why does the public not take a stand and insist that companies like Kaplan, Columbia University , museums, local government offices, and other provide transit directions. Do they think that all Americans have cars? I mean a transit tool for them to embed directions on their own website just like map quest is available. What about the politicians? It seems just unjust and unfair for the public to not demand that website provide transit directions and driving directions. I mean one pollutes less, provide a way for those less fortunate to get somewhere and a bunch of other great benefits.

David Smith

I agree that the legislature should wait until January 1, and in the mean time, they should work on impeaching Blagojevich.

David Smith:
You don't have to "imagine if LA had mass transit that was both effective and useful".
It actually had it once upon a time.
It was the Pacific Electric & it's red cars went everywhere!
The freeways were built to go to same places so that they would put it out of business, which they did!
L.A.'s suburbs up to 1960 developed along the PE's lines just as Chicago's suburbs developed along the commuter railroads we have.

I had thought that I have seen everything until I saw David Smith's one and a half paragraphs about encouraging transit directions. I have news for him. If people find it convenient to use public transportation they will do so whether a place puts directions on its website or not. It is extreamly easy to use the CTA's maps as well as Mapquest to find out how to get somewhere with transit. A college or some other place listing directions on how te find it through public transportation does not magically cause tons of people to start using it. And not listing it does not magically cause very many people to not use transit who otherwise would have. People generally figure out how to find things.

Explain exactly how exactly getting rid of the non-collar counties would help the cta? Aren't the biggest opponents to the CTA *IN* the collar counties? Even one or two reps in town voted against it.....

BTW, David, most local students DO have cars. If you're not on the north lakefront Chicago is too hard without a car.

I'm thinking that maybe we should take a page from the fans of the Jericho TV show. CBS canceled it even though it had a very loyal and large fanbase because of the shows it was up against....on the finale, another town wanted Jericho to surrender and the main character defiantly replied "Nuts"...so the fan base sent thousands and thousands of pounds of nuts to CBS in the mail...They finally relented and the last message from the CBS in the press release was "please stop sending us nuts".

So, my proposal is that fitting along with Rep Mulligans comments, we start sending bologna to each and every one of our legislators, the governor, Mayor Daley (especially him) and keep doing it until they fix this problem. I'd also include Ron in there too since I have the same sentiment about his reign so far, but I'll understand if the Hubie fanboys refrain from participating in that part of the campaign.

So, folks, let the lunchmeat barrage begin. Is it worth a couple dollars and some postage to tell your elected officials how you feel and that you are tired of all their bologna? Too bad it isn't summer as the lack of refrigeration might help the cause....

I'll bet it will be more effective than any rally!

KevinB

KevinB - that is a great idea. tell that save chicagoland transit website.

Only, instead of sending it to individual legislators, the folks behind that website should coordinate it so that they buy like a couple of hundred pounds of baloney, and deliver it to the State House.

And a coupla hundred more pounds to Rod's House!