babbling blue

I have been a little busier than anticipated so I haven’t blogged about my vacation, or anything else that I intended to. I hope that stuff will be coming up once I get a chance to download my pictures from my camera. In the meantime, I think it’s time for another little CTA rant. But this one isn’t directed at the CTA.

So we in the Chicagoland area are staring down our third “Doomsday” in the past six months. This means that the CTA is threatening to massively slash bus services (eliminating 81 of 154 bus routes) and raise fares (train fares would go up by as much as $1.25, more than a 50% increase). In the previous two Doomsdays, the Governor has offered temporary solutions to bail out the local transit agencies (CTA, Metra, Pace). The first was a pay day loan (resulting in this Doomsday being worse than the last two) and the second was a grant of money that he apparently “appropriated” from Federal highway funds. At the time of the 2nd, in early November, the Governor said he and the legislature just needed a couple more weeks to come up with a permanent solution. They haven’t.

The Governor and the Legislature have continued their petty bickering, acting like children on a playground rather than grown-up, elected officials. The Governor has been the worst offender of all. He has continuously vowed to veto any tax increases, instead preferring some half-baked plan to increase gambling (’cause that’s healthy) in Illinois.

That’s what has come before. What’s happening now? Well the Legislature finally managed to pass a measure to increase sales tax in Chicago and the collar counties by 0.25% (that’s an extra penny on a $5 purchase) and to allow Chicago to increase their real estate transfer tax (I think that’s a bit of a scam, but what can you do?). It passed by the exact number of votes required. So what does the Governor do? In a blatantly transparent move of political theatrics, he refuses to sign the measure unless all senior citizens are given free rides on all buses and train operated by the three transit agencies. Huh? This came out of nowhere! For one thing, seniors already pay reduced fares. For another, the Chicago Tribune reports that seniors as a group are no more or less poor than those in other age brackets, but they do vote in higher percentages. The transit agencies now say they will need to raise fares to compensate for the lack of money coming from seniors. And there is no guarantee that the measure will pass the Legislature.

House Speaker Michael Madigan said Monday he expects lawmakers to go along with Blagojevich but warned of “weakness” among some who voted for it last week.

“The governor would be well-advised to get to work, stop causing conflict, stop causing confrontation, get on the phone, talk to people who are a little weak on their support for his position,” Madigan said on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight.”

Madigan should probably take his own advice a little more, but he’s right on this one. (quote link)

This whole situation is simply infuriating. Illinois is a national embarrassment. There are probably tens of thousands of people wondering if they’ll be able to get to work next week. And Blagojevich plays games. He should really stick to Candy Land, as that seems to be about all he can handle.

RedEye Blog Doomsday News