CTA Tattler

Could we stop calling legislation to correct the CTA budget a "bailout"? Bailouts are the buckets of cash Blago threw at the CTA last year and the year before to avoid massive service cuts, and stall for time (that he and the legislature then wasted).

We don't want a bailout, we want the funding corrected so we don't need a bailout.

If the legislature manages to pass anything reasonably resembling any of the bills that have been under consideration and Governor Helmet-Head does ANYTHING other than sign it immediately, he should be impeached. (Unless the indictment's already been handed down, in which case that's probably good enough.)

Also, the gas tax version of the transit funding bill provides $65M less than the sales tax version. That sounds like a recipe for a fare increase, which is unfortunate - the Republicans don't matter any more, so why adopt one of their ideas?

"BAILOUT!OmG" and "DOOMSDAY!!Rargh!" sound better to the news media than "creating a long-term solution to repair funding for the CTA, Metra and Pace before service reductions and fare increases are implemented."

that's my guess for why we keep hearing the word "bailout."

If the blow dried idiot has such a great idea to "improve" the bills, then why doesn't he go public with his great ideas?

He doesn't have a great idea, he just wants to be able to use the Bush tactic: "Why won't they give me something I can sign?"

"Why won't they give me something I can sign?"

Well that's easy! They just need to leave more room above the signature line so there's room for his crayon.

I just got this from John Fritchey:

Great news!! Both the Illinois House and Illinois Senate have passed the much anticipated transit bill. HB656 provides additional funding for the CTA and RTA that will allow it to continue operations without the cuts or reductions that have been threatened for months.

Importantly, the bill also contains several reform measures that should result in our mass transit system operating more efficiently, and prevent what has been a regular series of doomsday scenarios over decades.

The ONLY thing that needs to happen now is for Governor Blagojevich to sign the bill into law. To contact him and urge his action, call 312-814-2121.

My colleague Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) deserves considerable credit for her tireless efforts on behalf of the bill.

I am also proud that much of the framework for the bill resulted from the findings of an extensive audit of the CTA done by the Auditor General as the result of legislation that I filed and passed almost 3 years ago.

I hope that this update has been useful. And as always, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can ever be of any assistance to you.

Great--then I see this in the Trib:

UPDATE: SPRINGFIELD–State lawmakers today passed a bill to fund Chicago-area mass transit with a sales tax increase, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he wouldn't sign it until lawmakers added his requirement to provide free bus and train rides for the state's senior citizens.

The governor's unusual move capped a frenetic 24-hour round of legislative negotiating that raised hopes of an agreement to end the months-long funding fight and avert service cuts and fare hikes scheduled for Jan. 20. But the governor's decision will send the legislation back for further consideration in the House and Senate.

"We can't say that all's well that ends well, because this is not over yet," said Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Chicago), the bill's chief sponsor.

moron, moron, moron!!! Grrrrrrrr! (hands tightening about an imaginary neck)
He's trying to deliberately sink this--where in Hell did this free rides bit come from??

I just can't get over how blindly stupid it is. Doesn't he know that ruining the transit of hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans, not to mention costing thousands of CTA employees their job, is sheer political suicide?

I KNOW!!!! I'm not against free rides for seniors, just that he's suddenly pulled this out of his...well, you know.

Um - if seniors all get free rides, doesnt that mean that there will be less revenue for the for the three agencies so they will again be in a position where they can't balance the budget?

I want to know where the free rides for Seniors came from too. Was this ever mentioned before?

exactly. I think most of us would have been agreeable, esp those who know seniors on fixed budgets who have to take transit, if it had been mentioned earlier. Arrangements would or could have been made.
Any they were thinking a little about the reduced fare users--did anyone notice that the reduced fares did not rise at all? (On the other hand, they're no longer selling 20-pack transit cards, which is going to annoy several seniors I know, starting with my grandmother, who will have to learn to watch for remaining $$$ on the card)

I keep waiting for the legislature to pass something overwhelmingly _simply_ as a "f--- you" to the governor -- this may be my ticket. So random.

He's hoping that no one will see it for what it is, an effort to sink the legislation.

If it was important to him, he would have made sure it was in the legislation sent to him.

I hope the next bill they take up is the one that allows recall/impeachment of elected officials and I hope that he is the first one to be the benefit of it. I never, ever thought I'd say this about a democrat (well, maybe Mayor Daley).

Kevin

"I want to know where the free rides for Seniors came from too. Was this ever mentioned before?"

According to the CTA activists I've read, it wasn't. He's just bring this up at the last second.

Clearly he doesn't want to sign the bill, but lacks the courage to veto it, so instead he'll add a last minute poison pill. Or his ego is so huge he can't give and do what's right until his ego is stroked with one more compromise.

Either way, this is not about seniors.

I really wonder if he's been planning this for the last few days or if it's a last second decision. If it's the latter, our Gov is crazy. If it's the former, he could have announced his requirement days ago. Either way, its transparent sabatoge.

We don't all make a ton of money in order to have cars, Governor. I rely on the CTA every single day of the week. Stop playing with us.

I hear you, Kimberli. Even if I owned a car and could drive to work, I'd have to make sure at least one of my co-workers leaves, as we are assigned 5 parking spaces for the 30 of us who work in this department.

If the governor thinks this bizarre action is going to win him votes, he is nuts. He might score points with a few senior citizans who have a me-first attitude but I think the overwhelming majority of seniors know that they don't need a free ride and will probably be insulted when it is handed to them. Everyday there are numerous riders 65 and older going to jobs for which they get paid hundreds of thousands of dollers and sometimes millions. There are many others who don't make quite as much but still receive high enough saleries that even their current fare is laughably small. And probably most importantly, the majority of people in the state do not take public transportation. So you are going to have a huge amount of seniors who get angry that they don't even receive a discount on anything related to driving and yet those who use public transportation will get it for free. And then I expect very few non-seniors are going to be happy about this. Why an earth does Blagojevich think that this is going to help him politically? He is going to be in for a rude shock if he does.

Governor hairpiece wants the transit bill to fail so he can have more money left for his free-healthcare-for-kids pet project. Every other aspect of the state can go to hell as far as he's concerned. With taxpayer-funded private transportation, Rod could care less about the CTA.

why can't they just start charging seniors? Even if it's $10 a month that sounds fair and from the $75 (and going up to $86) for a 30 day pass for regular people. There is your "bailout." We are all hurting so making seniors start feeling a little too isn't such a bad thing.