From State Senator Dan McConchie: McConchie plan injects fiscal responsibility in budget-making process Would protect Road Fund, cap state spending, and provide better revenue estimates Springfield, IL… In an effort to promote fiscal responsibility in the budget-making process, State Senator … Continue reading
Category Archives: Regional Transportation Authority
That’s what this column in Crain’s Chicago Business says: Rust Belt cities should try embracing the suburbs Merging aging urban centers with surrounding municipalities shows promise as a path to revival. READ MORE > Been there, done that. The RTA was created ti … Continue reading
McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks has now put the fifth of his supporters on the public payroll. First were the two patronage hires in contravention of County Board Rules. Next were the two appointees to the Lake in the … Continue reading
Received a letter from the Regional Transportation Authority telling me if I wanted a new senior discount card I would have to send in a copy of a government identification card. As I was putting the copy in the envelope, … Continue reading
A press release from Governor Bruce Rauner: Governor Rauner and Illinois Lottery Seek New Management Partner Signals transformation to ensure Lottery grows responsibly while providing better value for taxpayers CHICAGO — Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Lottery today announced … Continue reading
What follows are the results from the only contested Republican Party Precinct Committeeman race in Grafton Township: Grafton 6 Blake Hobson – 150 John Otlewis – 119 Hobson is the county’s representative on the Regional Transportation Authority. … Continue reading
Yesterday I vented at what current RTA Board Chairman Kirk Dillard did to raise our sales taxes one-half of one percent when he was State Senator. I’ll admit that really bothered me when he ran for Governor in 2010 and … Continue reading
Every tax district seems to want more money. It’s probably a characteristic of the beast. The more money, the more employees. The more employees, the higher the salaries of the top guys. Now new Regional Transportation Authority boss Kirk Dillard … Continue reading
Former McHenry County Board member Marc Munaretto failed to get a contract to handle real estate deals with the County at Tuesday night’s meeting. This was the second time the resolution to approve him made it to the Board floor. … Continue reading
When the Regional Transportation Authority referendum passed, there was a subsidy assumed. I remember that is was about $60 million a year. That number came from a formula. It was some small percentage of the sales tax collected in the … Continue reading
Take a look at these minutes from the McHenry County Board’s Transportation Committee. The recommended resolution regarding Pace bus service was approved at the last Board meeting. Of interest is the large subsidy for each person who uses the service–$15 … Continue reading
The following letter was sent to House Speaker Mike Madigan after he abolished the Mass Transit Committee. It was signed by last year’s Republican Spokesman, Mike Tryon, plus members Patti Bellock, Mike Fortner, David Harris, Jeanne Ives, Ron Sandack, Ed Sullivan and … Continue reading
Pace, the largely suburban public bus company, has released routes which it would like to run throughout the six-county area and beyond. That’s the map above. Within McHenry County, Pace would run one line from Waukegan through McHenry, down the … Continue reading
Don Udstuen was a lobbyist for the Illinois State Medical Society, ultimately rising to the well-paid post of heading up the Society’s medical malpractice company. On the Metra Board representing McHenry County, he was caught up in a bribery scheme … Continue reading
Most of the 1974 campaign literature from the RTA Citizens Committee for Better Transportation was not stupid enough to make the promise you see in the headline. But at least one piece, now somewhere in my Regional Transportation Authority archives … Continue reading
The First Electric Newspaper was the first to find out the names of those wanting to represent McHenry County on the RTA Board. Whoever is selected will replace Al Jourdan, someone supportive of the almost successful efforts to defeat the … Continue reading
A press release from the McHenry Count Board announces a search for a replacement for Al Jourdan on the RTA Board: The McHenry County Board is accepting applications from individuals interested in appointment to the REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY BOARD. A … Continue reading
It took Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown to point it out, but there are some high regional stakes in the fight over who controls mass transportation in the metropolitan area. The same fight occurred in 1974 and in the early … Continue reading
Every once in a while I’ll hear someone say that the lottery was passed to finance education. If I have time, I’ll correct that impression. When I attended my second New Members Conference put on by the Legislative Research Council, … Continue reading
Since 1974 when Downtown Chicago business interests financed the referendum to impose taxes on the suburbs to subsidize the CTA, promises have been made that there would be a “Universal Pass.” If something was promised 38 years ago and has … Continue reading