CTA Tattler

I was disappointed that more people didn't turn out. I guess the latest fake bailout worked. Throw the constituents some scraps and condescend to them and we eat it up and say thank you. I was actually hoping that this doomsday would really happen. I think everything will have to slide into chaos before people stop being so complacent. I'd like to see what Metra riders and motorists do when the entire city becomes gridlocked, all the downtown parking garages are full, and it takes an hour to drive half a mile. To me, the CTA is already in a "doomsday" state ... crumbling infrastructure, slow zones, sporadic and unreliable bus service. I've lived here ten years and in that short period of time, I've seen it deteriorate to the point that I question how much longer I can live here. We need better, more imaginative leadership in this city and the state. I'd like to see an HOV lane on Lake Shore Drive so that people who carpool and ride express buses don't suffer at the hands of the 99% of single-motorist commuter traffic that clogs LSD during rush hour. Edgewater and RP need more express buses. Western Ave. and Elston Ave need light rails. I could go on and on. Instead we have immature politicians with no term limits (Jones, Madigan) who get into a pissing contest with our absolutely useless governor. We have disengenuous people in the state legislature who scoff at the significance of transit and absolve their constituents of having to support it while spending everyone's tax dollars to build and maintain roads born of bad planning and development. We have a mayor who appoints members to the CTA board, appointed Kruesi, appointed Huberman, keeps the city's contribution (mandated by law) to the CTA at a pittance, while throwing up his hands saying "whaddyagonnado?" as if he bears no responsibility for the CTA. Unbelievable.

More people didn't show up for a number of reasons. But the whole idea of a rally for this particular issue is flawed to begin with.

What would be the effect of Doomsday be? It would mess-up transportation for people. Who would it affect the most, and the most directly? Those who have no other transportation options, but need transportation. What do they need transportation for? To get to places they need to be, like work.

Following this yet? The most affected people need the CTA to get to places they have to be. If they have to be at those places, they can't be somewhere else. It doesn't matter if that somewhere else is stranded at home, or off at a rally somewhere else. They need CTA to get them somewhere, thus they can't be at some rally.

Essentially, if you showed up at the rally Monday, that means you would have been able to survive Doomsday on Monday because you had the option to choose where you could be. You didn't need the CTA to get you someplace else you had to be on Monday.

So gathering people who would be affected by a transportation problem for a rally is a flawed concept to begin with. Perhaps not quite as flawed as the calls for a ridership strike that we hear, but flawed none the less.

A better idea would be to get people involved from one of those places that they need to be: Home, work, school, the doctor's office, the grocery store. Someplace the people are. Expecting a critical mass of people to be able to readjust their lives to travel someplace isn't going to work well. You've got to get them where they are.

Do I have a better idea? Well, no. I wish I did. I don't like to just say something won't work without offering an alternative that will work. But just because I can't come up with something better doesn't mean I can't point out the fatal flaw.

Wait... I just had an idea. Pick a one-hour period during which everyone attempts to contact their state reps and senators at the same time. Jam the phone lines. Flood the e-mail servers. People can do this from home, school, work... where ever they need the CTA to get them. Decide on a short, standard message to deliver, and then deliver it from all over the city and region instead of hoping to gather people in one inconvienent place that they can't get to.

Rusty, I was there yesterday because yes, I could take time away from work to go, which is a luxury most people probably don't have. I took the Brown Line to the Loop because that's the best option I have to get as close to the site of the protest. My other options were all CTA also--I don't happen to own a car, and if I did, I wouldn't want to have to figure out where to park in the Loop.

We had this discussion about the last rally. Many of us are unable to get there. Speaking for myself, I no longer work downtown, so (assuming I could get the time off at work) I would have had to allow at least 30-45 minutes to get there, depending on the status of construction that day, & the same to get back (making it, what? a 2-3 hour break in my day that comes out of my time-off/sick days fund).
I also have to man a desk in that time period, which means I would have had to ask someone to cover for me, which would have made it harder to get it off.
I know downtown is a nice central location, & people are there during a weekday, including some politicians, and that we would have to number in the thousands to make a ripple on the weekend (which is why I liked the rally outside the Guv's home on a weekend--I could make it, & he would likely be there).
But you have to understand that a number of people who work downtown can't control their lunchtimes--retail, banks, the DMV, etc. They have to be at their respective counters & desks at specific times & you CAN'T ALWAYS GET OFF WHEN YOU ASK! If there's no one else available to cover your shift, then you work it if you want to keep your job. Mind, it would have been very effective if these places had shut down so everyone could attend--an indication of what could happen if the Doomsdays (whichever one) go though. But unlikely; the dollar rules.
And if you've never had that kind of job since you graduated college, well, God bless you, you're lucky! But don't throw stones at those of us who aren't so fortunate.

I think we should have more rallies and bus trips to springfield. They're obviously working. Look at how hard the politicians are working for us now! They just can't wait to work on transit funding. Can you see how giddy they are? Wooooooooo!

Dee, Rusty, chill out. I wasn't criticizing you. I was just disappointed that a rally at noon in the middle of the Loop couldn't attract more people. If I worked in Schaumburg or couldn't leave my job at noon for whatever reason, I wouldn't have been there either ... but that doesn't negate the fact that a rally at noon in downtown Chicago attacted just a smattering of people. It's sad. No other time and location could be more appropriate for attracting people. I'm sure 10,000 people who ride the CTA and work within spitting distance of the Thompson Center were out for lunch between 12 and 12:30.

Question for Mike, since you were there: Who did show up for the rally? Working people? Unemployed? Payrollers? Students? What sorts of folks were there?

I didn't want to sound defensive about why I wasn't there. I'm a bit of a rabble-rouser myself, and I love a good rally. In my many years on this big, blue marble, I've tried to organize a few myself.

But different causes need a different kind of effort. Even when you're talking about a grassroots effort, there are different ways to go about it. And a single rally that people need to take time out of their busy lives, and find their own transportation to isn't really the best choice when you're talking about a cause that involves transportation options for people who don't have many options!

It's not as bad as a PITA fundraising dinner with a beef entre, but it just wasn't the right vehicle for the cause. The disappointment in turn-out was totally predictable. (Imagine what it would have been like if Doomsday had really happened!)

Rallies and strikes just won't make an impression. And when I don't/can't participate in them, I won't feel criticized if you call me on my non-participation.

And now with "Doomsday fatigue" setting in, we're going to need something good. Another rally, or more empty threats of strikes is just going to add to "Doomsday fatigue". So let's not make that mistake again. We need something better. That's all I'm saying. (And using far too many words to say it.)

I didn't make it there even though I'm obsessed with what's happening to public transportation in this state and region. I had other things to do. I could have made a major effort and gotten there if I'd thought enough people would be there to make an impression -- kind of a chicken-egg dilemma.

I don't know if the amazing complacency over the failure of mass transit comes from not believing it's that bad, or from a sense that things are so bad it's hopeless. For me it's the latter. Illinois is so f'ed up it's hard to know where to begin to make a difference. We have our previous governor on the way to the Pen and the current one seems to be literally nuts.

Despite the efforts of this site and a few others, there isn't enough information on the politics and economics of our problems to help us focus on political action. I think a first step would be to focus on legislators who have not helped solve the problem -- and, it goes without saying, the governor. We know about Madigan and Jones, but why are they still in "leadership" positions when leadership there is about as easy to find as banana trees? We need a focused MoveOn-type effort. How do we begin?

Well, 2 main reasons I didn't go: 1)I have a bad knee and have to minimize walking; 2) Screaming was promised for the last rally, and that's the last thing I need added to my day.

But while on the subject of people who come downtown to earn a living, let's talk about another facet of the who-pays-for-transit issue. The availability of a large labor pool who are willing and able to come to work downtown for what they're being paid, has for a long time been subsidized for Loop employers through the funding a transit system. Well, just barely subsidized now, because the money is on the brink of not being there, and the travel time and hassles are already making the trip more and more unattractive to said labor pool, which will tip the balance for more and more workers to say "that's the last straw, it's not worth it" and trade in the commute for a job closer to home.

One way or another, the downtown employers are going to have to pony up and assume more of the actual cost. By paying a tax to fund transit, or by paying workers more so they can afford higher fares (and/or to make the travel seem less unbearable), or by starting up bus systems of their own to get the workers there, or even buying the L, taking it private and running it properly. The attractive thing about getting employers more involved is that they have know-how which the CTA could use more of (how to get anything done better without wasting money), and they'll do it if they realize their businesses depend on it. That's one of the upsides of having an actual Doomsday take place.

Additional costs will ultimately be passed on to these companies' customers, of course, so in the end everyone will pay. But it's either do what it takes to make the system function, or lose what a vibrant and accessible center city contributes to the metropolitan area, its economy and culture. Some of these politicians don't understand what a free ride they and the businesses and the entire state have been getting, and I'm not sure a rally is the best way to explain it to them.

Green line to Conservatory stop, walk half block North and enter the Conservatory(free), west side of first greenhouse or ask the greenskeeper. (Attempt at humor, easiest way to use the CTA to find a banana tree in Chicago)

Didn't mean to be defensive, either...but I was remembering some twit from the last time we discussed a rally (was that Sept?), who kept saying everyone should get down there no matter where we were coming from, on our lunches; who made some snide comments about we should get jobs with a little benefit called "lunch". I was trying to head off some of those comments.

And CCW, you lead into a good point. Why aren't businesses/employers fretting about this publicly?
I'm sure some are taking steps if their employees say there is a problem, but I haven't seen any business, retail or otherwise, worrying about employees or prospective customers. I have reluctantly come around to wishing the 1st Doomsday had happened, just to shake people up that (cue loud, hollow voice) "IT CAN HAPPEN HERE." I can think of a mall & a grocery store that I won't be able to go to if the really big bad cuts go through. Not to mention all those little stores along Lincoln that I frequent. The L is not always convienent for that!

Regardless of one's personal feelings about Monday's rally, the turnout was quite disappointing by any measure. I find it impossible there are not more then 200 people within a 1/4 mile of the Thompson Center who are unable to spare 30 minutes on a given day. Rider complacency is part of the problem! I do understand, Rusty and Dee, not everyone believes a public rally is effective & for many it’s not logistically possible. However, it is clear the amount of attention paid this issue by the media directly corresponds to the actions of the decision makers. Getting large groups of people together and making noise is a way to get press, and that’s exactly what needs to happen. The squeaky wheel gets the grease! The more people who raise their voices the more press coverage gained and ultimately more heat on our impotent public officals.

In 1996, Daly said public transit has lost its constituency. He's still right. What's truly disheartening is that Chicago has I believe the 2nd largest system in the country! It's even worse in so many other places.

Taxpayer, I'd say it was a very diverse group of office workers, younger people older people ... and people with disabilities.

Where's the press/mention on this blog of the fact that the brown line tracks were on fire yesterday?

I'm one of those who couldn't attend the rally because I no longer work downtown. When I needed to find a job fast several years ago, every opening in my field was in the suburbs. Every opening with, I think, one exception, for which the funding fell through.

Which leads to my reservations about the prospect of employers getting involved. I doubt that many employers are going to take a proactive, enlightened-self-interest approach and look to be part of a solution. Many if not most are going to respond to the gradual, and maybe rapid after January 1, collapse of public transportation by just saying the hell with it and decamping to Naperville, Oak Brook Terrace, and Orland Park like everybody else--or out of the state altogether. Short-sighted, yes, because in a few years the real price of a world built around parking lots and SUVs is going to start slamming us in the face, but shortsightedness is how we do things now.

OK, with that dyspeptic rant off my chest, I do like Rusty's idea of a one-hour contact blitz. It could be daily, via mail, phone, e-mail or fax. And of course it doesn't have to be instead of rallies or anything else--it can be done in addition to whatever else people think useful.

I'm guessing most here know who their Springfield types are, but there's a handy locator at "http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/".

Personally, I think it can be useful to contact the senator or representative from where you work as well as where you live. I live in Lou Lang's district but work in Karen May's, and I definitely will be thanking her for her support.

El Rat, you're right that some employers will just move to the suburbs. And many have since the late '50s, early '60s. They've done so, and will do so for a variety of reasons.

But just because employer A can do it, doesn't mean that employer B can do it -- or wants to do it.

Just one example: Newspapers used to have just about everything downtown, or just outside of downtown. But as times changed, they moved what they could to less expensive digs. But they can't move everyone out the the 'burbs.

Three big things a company is going to consider is the availibility (and cost) of facilities, where they need to be to serve their customers, and where can they find a workforce.

Even if they can afford to build new facilities elsewhere, what if their customers expect them to be in the city? And what if their workforce can't follow them somewhere else?

What I'm saying is that there are plenty of businesses that depend on the CTA, but for various reasons can't just pull-up stakes and leave if the CTA colapses. And it's not just long-term reasons. It's actually mostly short-term issues that tie their fortunes to the CTA.

(A quick story: A call center company thought they'd save a ton of money by closing their big-city call centers, and moving to small towns where they paid tiny wages. Four years down the line, before they started to get any return on their capital investments, they found that they ran out of people to hire. Everyone with 50 miles of each town they moved to had either already worked for them, or had no intention of ever working for them. They won't make that mistake again!)