September 7, 2007
General Assembly to Take Another Crack at Saving the CTA
Just as a cloud of gloom began to set in over the carless masses of Chicago, a ray of hope came as the State Senate has been called into session on Monday. While a spokesman for Senate President Emil Jones would only say that the session would include discussion of the "transit issue," Sen. John Cullerton, (D-Chicago) told Crain's that he thinks they are going to take up the same bill that Julie Hamos was forced to table earlier this week. “It puts pressure on the House to do something. We can’t just sit around and do nothing,” he said. Neither house was scheduled to meet prior to Monday's session.
It's not all sunshine and lollipops for Chicago commuters, however, as the Monday session is expected to include discussion of a capital funding plan for construction projects around the state, which House Republican leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) has indicated is the only way that his group will support funding mass transit in the region. That discussion is expected to include a gambling expansion in the state — something that has been contentious and undoable thus far — which would put a mega-casino in Chicago and allow two more in the state. Daley has been interested in a Chicago casino for years now, but House Speaker Mike Madigan says that there isn't support for it in the House.
So here we are, ten days to the collapse of the CTA, and the General Assembly is still playing games with who can be the baddest bad-ass. Madigan is trying to wrestle Julie Hamos' bill through the House, and Tom Cross wants more money for roads, saying suburban commuters are "sick and tired of sitting in traffic." Rod Blagojevich is opposing the tax increase, calling it a backdoor fare hike and a "tax on working families for transportation." None of which will much matter on September 17, when hundreds of thousands of Tom Cross' suburbanite constituents that come into Chicago everyday to work for a living have to slog through the commuter disaster that is about to befall all of us. And if Blagojevich thinks that working families will be rejoicing over their sales tax savings when they can't even get around their own city, well, we have to wonder what he's been smoking.
We've about had it with all of this nonsense. We have to wonder how elected officials in Chicago didn't know that this was coming years ago — certainly dire situations like this one don't emerge out of the blue. If we have to live in a one-party state, the least the leaders can do is make sure that it works for the rest of us.
Image via TheeErin.
|
"Saving"
"Collapse"
etc.
do you mean: 10 days left until they will have to raise fares and cut service since they can't live without a huge subsidy?
Kevin, I'd like to commend you. That was a coherent and well-stated review of what's happening with the CTA and how it will affect everyone. While it may not be breaking news, it's nice, given the dearth of real writers on this site, to read something that makes sense, has no errors and states the facts.
guest -- and i suppose drivers think they can live without huge subsidies for highways, roads, parking, oil, gas, automobile industry, traffic enforcement, etc.? transit systems don't make money anywhere in the world except tokyo, just like roads don't make money. they're a public service to move people so our economy can function. and transit actually sucks up less money per capita to move the same number of people.
if the goal of transportation is to move *people* (as opposed to cars), then transit is the wisest investment the state can make. decrying transit "subsidies" and then hopping in your car and driving away on the dan ryan just makes you look like an ignorant ass.
i think it's time we raise fares for drivers -- toll all the highways and roads, bring congestion pricing to Chicago, charge the real value for street parking real estate, let the free market totally take over the price of gas so it hits $6/gallon. better for the highway system to collapse than the transit system.
I love the Chicagoist style of writing.
First, write a story based entirely on the reporting and views of others.
Second, do it a day or two late.
Third, make some melodramatic claim that the CTA could "collapse" in 10 days. While the situation is very serious, the first round of cuts will not cause a collapse. Likely, any 2008 cuts will be where the collapse starts to come in. Not to ruin a good bout of panic, but being accurate and respected means you choose the right words, writing dude and dudettes.
Guest #4: And yet you keep commenting.
Every day.
Multiple times.
Go back to street cars. Or build electric bus lines like the BART in San Francisco. Sure the landscape may change a little, but I don't think I've ever heard someone say a city looks terrible because of all of the electric lines used to power buses, that don't produce choking exhaust because of 4 mpg tanks. There is no saving the CTA. Not while Blago is living at Sacramento and Wilson and flying to Springfield every day.
I'm absolutely baffled by Rod Blagojevich. The incredible lack of logic in his statement about how "increased sales taxes and real estate transfer taxes hurt the people who rely on mass transit the most" smacks of elitism and suffers from a gaping hole in logic: Rod, buddy, don't you think service cuts and fare increases are going to hurt them a lot more than paying a very small sales tax increase? When people lose transit, people lose their jobs. He'd better hope he can socialize health care here, because people are going to need it since they'll have a hard time getting to work.
I think the national media blush Rod saw a few years back is still dancing through his dreams, and he's got it in his head he'll be president some day. His actions this year have been designed to make him look tough in the eyes of voters as he strives to put it to the corporations while fighting for the little guy, classic vote-buying strategy. Even if he can't get some universal health care--which I sincerely doubt he really even wants or understands--he looks like he's ahead of the pack on the issue, and he can say "Told you so" all through the coming health care crisis. Meanwhile, he can stand tough on taxes as he runs the state deeper and deeper into the red.
That isn't to say I think it'll work. Rod's an idiot, and he's damaged his prospects far more than he realizes. I just wish he hadn't had that 15 seconds of fame back in '04 or '05.
You are right, Kevin.
If I can't say anything nice about a widely read local publication whose often bullshit ideas likely have some sway among the population, I should just shut up? Yeah.
You have the makings of good of Illinois or Chicago politican, by the way, with your defensive, I-am-the-voice-of-all-wisdom mentality. When you do run for office?
The issue here is simple: Your "collapse" melodrama is inaccurate. You must know that on some level; you are not that stupid. Why not deal with the actual facts instead of creating even more useless drama? Already, people downstate and in the 'burbs don't trust the CTA because of this crying-wolf shit, one reason we are in this mess. and you just add to that instead of sticking to basic facts, which make their own very strong case. For someone who claims to know politics, you really are tone deaf about politics if you think inaccurate melodrama will help things for the CTA.
Even if some 40 bus lines are cut, and the Purple Line is not always express, and buses pass people on curbs, the wider system still will run at least for a while, at least until early 2008, according to current budget projections and comments from Huberman, et al.. Therefore, there is NO collapse in 10 days, no matter what happens. Are you really so dense? Stick to the facts, Kevin. Stick to the simple facts, and let them speak for themselves. Did you never learn this? If not, demand a refund from whatever college tried to educate you.
By the way, you ever get around to revealing your super-secret plan for using Skyway money for mass transit? Or did you merely forward the details to our state and local leaders?
You may think I am being hard on you, young man. I am not. I just can't stand writers who try to disguise superficial bullshit as informed opinion--especially writers who strive to have an important voice in local political matters.
I am as worried as you about the CTA, as I can't get to work without it, nor can I live in this city without a strong CTA. But I am not about to engage in inaccurate melodrama, either. I'd rather not insult the intelligence of my fellow citizens as you seem so eager to do--nor would I want to use language that probably will create as many anti-CTA bailout people as pro-transit people. If you don't understand this, you don't understand communication and politics, my friend.
I seem to recall these "doomsday scenarios* happening every year for the past 10 years. No one is going to shut down the CTA or mass transit. They just aren't going to make it any better.
kev good post
Guest #9: Please see comment #5.
If you are unhappy with the discourse here, you can write the next post the way the you think it should be written.
On your own blog.
You know what else, Kevin? Since I have no fucking life, I'm going to keep spewing vitriol all over your posts that no one forces me to read. I could just pick up a newspaper, but I'm too cheap to buy one, so I'll act as though you're the only news I can get. Why aren't you Edward R. fuckin' Murrow?
Kevin: I just want to address what by all facts available to the public is an inaccurate statement.
Why can't you do that?
You have made an inaccurate statement in a public venue, and in a way that likely will do the CTA no favors. You are fair game just as any newspaper writer would be. You have presented yourself as some sort of insightful observer on civic issues.
All you have is defensive, close-your-ears mentality.
Either defend your statement or refute it. By the way, the link you provided hardly supports your theory of collapse in 10 days.
Maybe you can change my mind, and the minds of others who don't buy into the collapse scenario you put forth. What are you so afraid of?
"Tired of gridlock?" I was 20 min. late to work today as I was stuck on the 136 express bus moving at a crawl from Irving Park all the way to Delaware & Michigan Ave. The culprit for this bottleneck? A CTA bus broken down 2 blocks from the Delaware exit. Blago just doesn't get it.
Also, the best way to handle obnoxious 'Guest #9' is to ignore him. Trolls love the attention. (I love people who are so passionate about their opinions that they always post anonymously.)
Technically, guest #6, Blags lives at Richmond & Sunnyside. NW corner proper to be specific.
You know he's there all the time. The people should make some noise outside his house about since we know he's inside playing Balderdash or something.
what the hell at some of the posts here. a jab at the author is one thing, a systematic crtique of their posting abilities at a site that you don't work at is quite another.
give the guy a break. jeesh.
Yeah, 15, because your tag line really tells us who you are, as opposed to merely being a guest. Way to be brave, mrdeltiod.
Troll? Just calling out what seems like a BS statement that puts a big hole in Kevin's whole idea. You people don't realize how much crying wolf by the CTA has hurt the chances of reform. You should try living downstate for a while, or actually talking to state lawmakers one of these days. Some of the best allies of the CTA also do the most damage, I have found, through their sloppy communication and fact-challenged commentary and hysterical attitudes.
If this city can't get its mass transit system right for its own people, how the hell is it going to support the extra transit needed for the international crowd coming to town for the Olympics? Yet another reason why we don't deserve the Games here.
matty -- "They just aren't going to make it any better" is a major major understatement of what will happen within two years time if we keep neglecting our responsibility to maintain our transportation system.
these scenarios have been happening every year because of systemic funding problems at the state level. the state created the RTA, dictated its funding formula, failed to revise the temporary funding plan it established in 1983, commissioned an independent state audit last year to get to the bottom of the problem, and is now failing to act on the recommendations of their own audit. you'll remember we've needed bailouts each year to avoid major cuts. we can't keep depending on those bailouts. ten years ago they did have to make massive cuts to service because of inadequate funding. they've been limping along since, taking much-needed capital money to pay for operations (which will come back to bite us soon enough), and relying on the mercy of our legislators. we just raised fares a couple years ago. last year we only escaped cuts by shifting the burden of paratransit service to PACE.
this year there's an actual reform bill on the table instead of another band-aid mercy bailout. it would be the most "real" action the state's taken since 1983. if we fail to provide a sustainable source of funding, the doomsday scenarios will continue to get worse each year and the bailouts required will get larger and larger as we let the system fall into massive deficits. we can't keep neglecting it.
Agreed with Guest 20.
I think the reform part of the bill is the most interesting part of this, although it has been under reported. (By myself as well).
Maybe I'll do a post on that for Monday....
Changing the RTA formula won't happen because no one wants Blago to appear successful. People would rather sink the ship than allow Blago to get something done.
Guest #7, there have been numerous studies that show sales taxes actually hurt the poor/working families the most. I think Blago is a horrible governor, but I think he is right on the sales tax issue. Although I'm not sure if the poor would pay more in increased sales tax or increased fares. I suppose that's debatable.
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=17595
#23 -- i bet most people would agree that sales tax is not the best solution, but it seems to be the only one that feasible and has political will behind that would make it actually possible to get passed. i'd argue that cuts and fare increases would hurt lower-income families even more than the tax increase. our region's families spend as much of their income on transportation as they do on housing -- because of the need for private automobiles (take a look at http://www.cnt.org/ht/). cutting transit will make working families even more dependent on automobiles and eat up even more of their income on transportation costs.
i agree though that i'd much rather see progressive funding strategies. for example, philadelphia just had a similar transit crisis, and found funding through highway tolls. chicago should similarly consider congestion pricing, street parking pricing and a gas tax. i just don't think our leaders are that progressive though.
The doom and gloom is not for the CTA but all the homeowners in Chicago for the next sixty years!
The fact of the matter is that the General Assembly is passing off the hot potato of transit pension funding to the Chicago City Council - who will in turn guarantee at least $3 billion in funding until 2039. That funding, in the form of the increase in the Chicago real estate transfer tax, will increase due to natural growth when the market rebounds - and means a windfall at some point for the CTA.
The $235 million in transfer taxes the City projected will go up 40 percent in 2008 when this passed and will become the highest single source of revenue within the City – even though $100 million or so is a pass through. Based on 2007 numbers the tax would produce $109 million.
The tax would outpace 2007 receipts for Cable TV, Electric, Electricity IMF, Lease Tax, Motor Vehicle Lessor Tax, Ground Transportation Tax, Parking Tax, Vehicle Fuel Tax, Amusement Tax, Auto Amusement Tax, Boat mooring Tax, Liquor Tax, Cigarette tax, Non-Alcoholic Beverage tax, OTB Tax, Employers Expense Tax, Foreign Fire Insurance Tax, Hotel Tax, Personal Property Replacement Tax, Municipal Auto Rental Tax, and Intergovernmental Grants.
It remains very interesting to me that those who advocate for affordable housing like the MPC are advocating for sticking it to sellers now. Sellers - who will have to pay for this unfair swallowing of their equity really needed a diminishment of their investment in a down market. Great idea and great support of home ownership.
Its quite dubious to say the least - that an un-elected - appointed CTA board (so much for accountability) will get their under funded pension dollars for thirty years paid directly off the back of Chicago home sellers - and will still be able to go down to Springfield for their capital projects. Of course, the City will get their fees for the cost of collection as well. Ultimately the State is off the hook for some – but will still have to carry the bill on the big ticket items. This isnt over by a long shot.
Makes you wonder which governmental entity that finds itself in trouble next will get the benefit of a custom transfer tax increase without voter consent next…
And finally, what about the poor Aldermen who will be faced with the prospects of approving a $100 million dollar annual subsidy for the CTA from the transfer tax. That’s $3 billion over the term of the bond. Hard to say you didn’t raise taxes when this bill makes it a 40% increase.
o.k, whats up with the women in the glasses? She looks evil, she's the cause of all these problems and such!
#25 -- if you really want to hurt Chicago's homeowners, cut transit service.
people are always going to find problems with whatever tax solution they come up with. i don't see you proposing any magical solution that everyone is going to agree with. the fact of the matter is, money doesn't come out of thin air, and sometimes we just have to pay for things to keep them from falling apart, or we'll end up looking like detroit.
this is the best solution to come along in years. no, it's not perfect, but what piece of legislation ever is? it inherently requires compromise, unless we secede and break the city off into its own state -- and even then we'd still have to make compromises.
if it's this vs. letting transit crumble, then the transfer tax is way worth it. if we can come up with a more progressive solution that everyone can agree on enough to pass, that would be fantastic, but with the current crop of "leaders" our great state elected i don't see that happening. the people are ultimately to blame for these problems for electing their representatives.
About the fighting above, I would say two things.
First, I learned from Kevin's article and comments that followed.
Second, this learning is what a lot of us come to Chicagoist for. That and to throw in our own two cents every once in a while.
Change the fare structure to zones, meaning the longer your ride the more you pay. This works well in other cities, and can do the same here.
However, you will have to endure numerous news reports from 95th street commuters claiming how racist this policy is, as though skin color makes a difference in the fact it costs more to transport people farther.
#25 - end up looking like Detroit? you think there is something wrong with a city because it is 85% black? save your hate mongering for KKK.com please.
For everybody who has been advocating that a "small" tax increase is God's gift to the CTA, how much do you think people should have to pay to the government for living in Illinois?
As an example, for a homeowner who makes $75k a year and has a $275k mortgage:
Their taxes are already close to 40% a year (federal, state, fica, real estate, sales tax)
Is enough ever going to be enough? On top of that, today Little Todd Stroger wants to put a Cook County tax on your utility bills, and William Beavers has stated that all the fat has been cut to the bone in county government.
I ask you again, will 50% be your breaking point? What will it be?
A few people, but not enough, have asked what the CTA is going to do with more money. Have they explicitly stated that service will improve? It seems to me that the first one to get the money is the CTA pension system. Maybe there will be a few dollars left to actually improve operations. Maybe.
The more we allow little tax increases to go through, even push for them, we blind ourselves to the fact that there are some major players in the state who are lining up to take a lot more money in the coming years. Property value increases have slowed, so real estate tax gains will slow. You know what? - that means Daley and Stroger will need to raise the assessment rates to keep bringing more and more money in. This is your money and my money.
I ask that you be reasonable when it comes to allowing a free pass on tax increases for unclear purposes without reasonable returns. Now is the time for the whole state government to live within its means. Balance the spending out to meet the revenues, not increase the revenues to match the spending desires.
Yes, the CTA and Metra need a systemic fix. First off: defined contribution retirement plan. Stop feeding the pension monster. Maybe then it is reasonable to ask for more money, when it will be more clear that it will actually improve the future, not just make up for past pension contribution shortfalls.
The CTA RTA And METRA need to cut some underused routes.Get rid of there duplicate managment levels and multiple layers of supervisors. we dont need three differnt managment teams get one universal fare system and card. reform the overindulgent pension system and then see how much money is really needed. this isnt a transit system it is a do nothing jobs program for middle managers and consultants. One managment team for transit not three there is plenty of fat still to be cut before any tax increase should be considered. We dont need a CTA presidnt a rta president and a metra pres. streamline transit. Maybe blago can find a convicted terrorist who is interested to attack the transit mess.
#30 -- please, spare us your straw-man political correctness. it's basic urban history. the detroit reference was about how detroit totally neglected their public transit system, ripped the whole thing out and replaced it with freeways that tore through and destroyed vibrant neighborhoods. they made almost every mistake planners could make and lost over half of their population in the last 50 years. the result was massive deterioration of the city to the point that it can now barely support the most basic public service like police and schools. st. louis made similar mistakes and suffered similar problems. but chicago kept its transit and has enjoyed much greater economic success because of it. now we're neglecting one of our greatest assets.
#31 -- the cta did pass pension reforms.
and you're right about taxes. instead of raising taxes, we should cut wasteful suburban highway funding and invest that money in transit. or better yet, start charging direct user fees on all roads to cover 50% of road and highway operations -- the same deal transit riders have.
the pension reforms of the cta are a joke. The state is just throwing away money by giving anymore to transit until there are new managment structures. I agree transit is a neccasary public service and it is benefical to the region as a whole but it is broken and needs to be fixed not just have more and more money thrown at it. REAL REFORM NOT MORE TAXES
33: Detroit also suffered the decline of its main industry, US autos, and that's another vital aspect of the story. Chicago had a more diversified economy, and still does. As for St. Louis, another aspect was its longtime competition with Chicago, a battle it obviously lost, as well as auto industry decline in some respects.
Transit is vital, but let's not overstate its importance as to why certain cities declined.
Adding to my comments (31) and to guest 34, this debate is not going to be solved by city people thinking that suburban people should all live in multi-level buildings and become more urbanized and just live closer together, just as suburbanites should recognize that the city needs to have a viable train and bus system. The city needs the suburbs, and the suburbs need the city. They both have differing transportation needs, and both are necessary - roads and public transportation. We already have some of the highest gasoline taxes in the nation, so there are already user fees on roads.
If we end up decimating or neglecting either of our transportation methods, we will end up without a viable economy, and we will all be unemployed.
We need to decide how much should the government be doing and what is necessary and what is unnecessary. I don't like Stroger, so I will pick on him: No one needs twenty spokesmen to get a message out. One or two will do the trick. There's $2 million right there in savings.
Is a casino the answer for funding? Monetarily, yes, it will being in a ton of money. Morally, that depends on your point of view, but gambling, in my view, is a choice. You can do it or not do it. If you do gamble, then understand that you will probably lose money. You can live a complete life without gambling, so that kind of voluntary tax will not take food from you or cause you to skip medicines. A general sales tax punishes you for everything that you do, and you realistically have no choice to just stop spending. You need to eat, you need shelter, and most people want some kind of enjoyment from life, so they spend money.
The government should not be seen as a scheme to take from the producers to give to the non-producers in society. There are things that are common to everybody that the government provides: property rights (police and military protection) infrastructure, laws. If we had a government that focused on what is necessary of government, then everybody could get what is needed - gold-plated roads for the suburbanites, and platinum railcars and titanium buses for the city people.
As a former St. Louisan, I don't think anyone there thinks they lost the battle to Chicago. *cough cough CUBS SUCK cough cough* It is just a smaller town instead of the massive city that Chicago is. Economically they are doing far better than detroit, though some major industry has moved around in recent years. The Urban areas are starting to revive again, the suburbs have been fairly strong for a while now. I heard it described once as St. Louis made a lot of decisions over the years that kept it a small town and kept major industry away. I don't think that a City is necessarily failing because it isn't Chicago. Okay... Enough defensiveness of my hometown.
At this point Re: The transit situation I am going to see my commute increase dramatically and the amount of walking I am going to have to do triple. (Right before winter, Thanks guys!)
Frankly, without reliable transportation I have no reason to stay in this city. I think that Chicago and the state of illinois should be concerned that they will lose workers and consequently businesses if the continue to allow the CTA to shrink.
Decreasing capacity means that many people wont be able to get to work on time, so it is not simply an issue of a few people getting passed by a bus. If they can't get on a bus, then how exactly, are they supposed to get to work? Driving isn't economical in this city.
I am tired of politicians treating this transit issue as if it were some kind of political issue. I don't want to hear all the reasons it can't be fixed, and about how broken it is and how we have no money. Every problem has a solution, it just so happens that sometimes it isn't a solution that makes everyone happy. Sometimes people have to make sacrifices (and by people, I mean the people in our government, because they work for US.)
Memo to my employees in GOvernments of Chicago and Illinois,
I don't want to hear your bitching. Fucking Fix it, NOW.
Regards,
The girl who is going to take her high value skill set to another location if you can't get your crap together. (Just one of many I'm sure)
And that's the danger ... people like 38--probably like a lot of Chicagistas--taking their high-value skills and the taxes and economic activity those skills carry to other, more livable places, leaving only unskilled labor too poor to leave. Chicago become a husk, just like Detroit.
What the suburbs and downstate don't seem to realize, though, is that aa drop of revenue from Chicago means a drop for the whole state. Like it or not, Chicago is the only reason Illinois has any political or economic power on a national level. Without Chicago, Illinois become Iowa without the caucuses. Schaumburg dries up, as does Oak Park and Rockford and Champagne and Mt. Vernon and Cairo.
i'm confused, can they not just raise fares? $2.00 to get across the city is super cheap. raise it to $3 across the board
@37 -- "We already have some of the highest gasoline taxes in the nation, so there are already user fees on roads." We'll also have the highest transit fares in nation after Sept. 16. And you think gas taxes are equitable user feeds? Driving inherently costs more -- it's significantly more infrastructure spread out over greater distances. Just because people pay *something* doesn't mean they're paying their fair share. We need to get past this suburban illusion that they're "subsidizing" transit and paying the full cost of their driving through gas taxes. Nobody is suggesting suburbanites start living in multi-family buildings. Just live a little closer together, let developers build mixed-use communities, and stop designing everything around cars without accommodating pedestrians -- this is called a town. Many Chicago suburbs are already built like this, and it allows them to make better use to make use of transit. If suburbs want to refuse to conserve our resources, then they can pay for it. But don't expect the rest of the state to pay for their waste. I'm tired of hearing people whine about how expensive it is to lead a wasteful lifestyle. If you want to save money, then live more efficiently.
The biggest problem here. Our leaders in state government are out of touch. When was the last time they rode a bus, and subsequently found themselves on a broken down bus?
When was the last time they rode on the Red line at 8am in early January with a temp of -1.
Another big problem. That bill they're all haggeling over is focusing on the wrong revenues. They should be putting higher fees on license plates, city stickers, and drivers licenses. It's a privilage to drive, you should have to pay for it.
And the final big problem CTA itself. What a shame. The NTSB just found them entirely at fault for the brown line derailment last year. What a shame.
Oops, I meant Blue line derailment. Sorry folks. I'll get it right next time!
38: I am a former St Louis resident, and believe me, Chicago won about a century ago.
That said, I am with you in leaving. What's the point of all the high taxes here if we can't get mass transit? What's the point of living here?
If I had to buy a car, I would not do it here.
# 35 fed up is right. The CTA may well need additional state funding, but we won't know for certain until it's managed like a modern, efficient transit agency, rather than a patronage and graft arm of Mayor Daley's political organization.
The General Assembly doubtless observed this week that the unnecessary, half-complete Block 37 superstation is about 100% over budget. While we Chicagoans know that taxpayers are pretty lucky when a Richie Daley capital project is only 100% over budget, the General Assembly can be forgiven for not knowing that and assuming that the CTA can't be trusted with money.
I live here and use the CTA all the time, and frankly I'd rather pay up, and let the people who screwed up the CTA - Richie Daley and his fellow looters - take the heat.