Weekend Diversion: Night Of The Ponies
Pedway, First Store Open At Block 37
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Around Town
Red-Light Cameras Not So Special?
Well, he did it. Blagojevich finally pulled the trigger. 23 days after it was passed by the legislature, Rod Blagojevich approved much of Illinois' new budget. In a news release he said that he has removed $463 million in spending on "special pet projects and other spending that we simply can't afford." The cuts now go back to the General Assembly for consideration, where a fight is expected with Speaker of the House Mike Madigan. Senate President Emil Jones has vowed to stand with Blagojevich and block a veto override: what the governor didn't veto becomes law, and what he cut gets voted on, straight up or down. Our man in Springfield, Rich Miller, has a nearly line-by-line breakdown of some of the cuts, including health and human services.
Speaking of budget woes, Mayor Daley is urging the state to pass a 0.25 percent sales tax increase for the Chicago area. "The deal is there, and no one is going to blame anyone for increasing the sales tax.... We are not going to blame the governor. We are not going to blame the General Assembly. ... This is good for the metropolitan area. It is good for the collar counties, the suburban area. It's good for the city. It's good for employers and employees," Daley told the Chicago Tribune. Blagojevich has called for legislators to work with him to pass a multibillion-dollar construction program that would fund infrastructure projects around the state, including regional transit. The budget bill signed yesterday does not include new transit funding. Without it, regional transit authorities (including Metra and PACE) are predicting drastic service cuts and steep fare increases.
With Blagojevich seemingly in a death match with Mike Madigan and much of the General Assembly, it doesn't look like this fight will be over anytime soon. Here's hoping that Daley can come up with some funding for the CTA before the whole system comes to a screeching halt.
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"Here's hoping that Daley can come up with some funding for the CTA before the whole system comes to a screeching halt."
Where the fuck was our munchkin mayor two years ago when it should have been crystal clear to even the most ignorant among us that the CTA and its sister agencies were in serious trouble? Why is he doing this so late in the game? I doubt he cares about the CTA all that much. Either that, or he is hopelessly incompetent.
Only in Ilinois could we be playing with the possibility of severe cuts to mass transit when it is clear we need more. I only hope that if cuts do come, the suburbanites really take it up the a** as well, as their representatives share a lot of the blame. No Metra expansions, a gutted pace, late Metra trains, higher prices, more crowds, etc.
By a car and drive!
"The deal is there, and no one is going to blame anyone for increasing the sales tax.... We are not going to blame the governor. We are not going to blame the General Assembly. ... This is good for the metropolitan area. It is good for the collar counties, the suburban area. It's good for the city. It's good for employers and employees."
It's soooo good! Why stop at .25 if its so good, lets got up to .75 or even a whole point!? What's good for Daily is good for me (according to Daily)! Heck if good is .25, wonderfully fantastic must be around 3 whole points! What about 5?... that could bring orgasms to all, its just all so good. Taxes,taxes, and taxes; they are good.
I think I mean Daly and not Daily though
Actually, I think you mean Daley...
That I do
Hmmm... maybe the city should cut spending?
Nah....
Nothing a tax on bottled water can't solve.
Okay, so Blago went and vetoed a bunch of stuff to make him feel like his rod's as big as his hair. That's all fine and legal. What I haven't heard anybody discuss, though, is the legality of his plan to shift that money to health care, as he originally said he was going to do. Is that still his plan? If so, can he pull it off with? Does he have the power to allocate funds?
I wish somebody in the media--any media--would talk to someone in the legal profession about that.
9: What cave have you been hiding in? You really need to read local papers more often.
Your complaining at Chicagoist will no doubt change the state's biggest politicians' minds..
The very informative and superior 10: Which paper covered it?
12, I think the very informative and superior 10 is referring to this morning's Trib, since that was the thrust of its piece.
12: Trib covered it. So did Daily Herald and some downstate papers, as well as St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I would assume Sun-Times did--after all, this was the question on EVERYONE'S FUCKING MIND--but I can't vouch for it. Additionally, blogs such as Capitol Fax have touched upon the issue.
Do you actually read the papers? Do you actually keep up with what's in the media. I do, and you are in over your head on this one, sonny.
11: Tell us what to do. I mean, all I've done is placed phone calls to elected officials multiple times, written multiple letters, tried to clue in people who have not been following the mass transit crises to tell them why it matters to them, and voted over the past 2-4 year accordingly (this crisis has been a long time coming). I don't think anyone is claiming that this blog will change things, as you assume. So, again, tell me what to do, cowboy.