Transit-funding issue intensifies
There's at least a scrap of good news for mass-transit agencies in the Chicago region and the 2 million riders who rely on them daily.
After previous budget Band-Aids, many state lawmakers seem to finally agree that commuter buses and trains need a permanent source of new money to keep running. The problem is - and it's a big problem - elected leaders continue to disagree on how to raise those hundreds of millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking toward the Chicago Transit Authority's Nov. 4 "doomsday," when lack of money will force the CTA to reduce service, lay off employees and raise peak-hour fares. Deeper cuts and larger fare hikes for 2008 were previewed Friday by CTA President Ron Huberman, who urged Springfield to deliver permanent relief.
"The sooner that the state Legislature acts, the sooner we can take these doomsdays off the table," he said. "We know that people are nervous, we know that people are scared."
Many transit proponents are pushing for a quarter-cent increase in the Chicago-area sales tax that helps pay for the CTA in Chicago and Metra trains and Pace buses in the suburbs. A House bill to authorize the hike has stalled, in part because legislators from outside the Chicago area have demanded a new statewide capital program as a quid pro quo.
"I think lawmakers, particularly downstate lawmakers, understand we haven't had a road-and-bridge construction program in eight years," state Sen. Dale Risinger, R-Peoria, said. "They know if we don't do something for mass transit, we're not going to get that."
But complicating matters is Gov. Rod Blagojevich's promise to veto a sales-tax increase for transit; he says the hike would harm working families. The sponsor of the House measure, Rep. Julie Hamos, D-Evanston, listened to other ideas during a Chicago hearing Tuesday. One proposal called for levying a tax on commercial and private parking lots.
"Four and half hours later, I think my bill looks pretty good," Hamos said.
She added: "There are no easy funding sources."
Sen. John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat who is lining up votes for the mass-transit bill in his chamber, said a cigarette tax increase may end up being part of the solution.
The CTA is the largest of the Chicago area's transit systems, providing 1.6 million rides daily within the city. In 2004, the agency's then-president Frank Kruesi issued dire warnings as it faced a $70 million budget shortfall. But some lawmakers expressed skepticism about the efficiency of the CTA and bristled at what they perceived as Kreusi's overly aggressive style.
Things have changed in the past three years, as the CTA, Metra and Pace have depleted capital dollars to keep operating. Earlier this year, Kruesi was replaced by Huberman, a young but rising top aide to Mayor Richard Daley. The state's auditor general completed a report on the CTA that confirmed the agency's structural budget problems but rapped the CTA for ignoring pension obligations.
The Regional Transportation Authority - the umbrella agency that oversees the CTA, Metra and Pace - launched a public education campaign to make the case that transit funding sources have not kept up with rising costs.
Hamos, chair of the House Mass Transit Committee, has held a series of public hearings since 2005 to air the issue. The bill she introduced this year proposes the regional sales-tax hike for transit, plus a Chicago real-estate tax to shore up CTA pensions and retiree healthcare.
The tax-watchdog Civic Federation and other organizations have supported the legislation. But it comes at a time when the Chicago City Council and Cook County Board are considering a raft of tax increases that would sock residents and visitors. Cook County officials recently considered hiking the local sales tax by 2 percentage points.
"Each government needs to stand on its own and make its case," said Jim LaBelle, vice president of Chicago Metropolis 2020, which has urged policymakers to invest in mass transit to spur economic development.
Even if lawmakers can agree on a source of more operating money for public transportaton, the systems are in need of new capital money. A $13 billion capital-construction program recently approved by the Senate contains a relative fraction -- $425 million - for commuter bus and train networks.
"The Senate bill is completely inadequate," Hamos said.
Even with the mounting pressure to do something, lawmakers are unsure whether they'll finally resolve the funding issues for mass transit this year.
"I don't see that the stars are aligned to have the overall macro-fix," said Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa.
Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net <mailto:ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net> .