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
Category Archives: CTA
Municipal bond analyst Steve Wilson left the following message under the first part of my report of the McHenry County Board debate about the $10 increase for housing Federal prisoners: How much are we losing each day per prisoner? I … 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
My understanding is that courts have decreed the highest form of speech is political speech. Now the Chicago Transit Authority has banned political speech from the ads on and in its buses. If one were challenging authority, might advertising placards … 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
I’ve written previously of State Rep. Jack Franks’ personal motivation for going after Metra and RTA board members, but let me remind readers that Metra Board member Jack Schaffer owns Liberty Outdoor, the company that puts up small billboards favored … Continue reading
Didn’t the “Lone Ranger” television show start with something like that? When the extension of the CTA from Jefferson Park to O’Hare was being considered, it was right after the Regional Transportation Authority was shoved down the throats of suburbanites. … Continue reading
It was August 10th and we were off to the annual Family PAC cruise. As usual, I took pictures of Kennedy Expressway traffic and CTA trains. And, once in Chicago, skyscrapers. Pretty amazing the shots one can get from a … Continue reading
The unions decided to keep their benefits. That was more important than letting the commuters ride the CTA. And the personal grief of Democratic Party Lieutenant Governor Scott Lee Cohen’s son was more important that the doomsday for CTA strap … Continue reading
This is so simple I am amazed that I haven’t heard it anywhere else. Let’s put a couple of small slot machines on each CTA bus and rapid transit car. Let the CTA keep all the profits. Consider it a … Continue reading
The answer is simple, but the politics is difficult. It is pretty obvious that real estate value is greatly affected by closeness to mass transportation, especially that which runs on rails. It is equally obvious that downtown business interests have … Continue reading
Every time we go to Milwaukee via the four-lane highway that connects with Illinois’ U.S. 12, I see the park and ride site on the Wisconsin side of the state line. The article you see having the RTA announce a … Continue reading
In 1976 Quincy Republican Jeff Mays and Rockford Republican Lynn Martin ran for state representative. Illinois House Republicans had been devastated in the 1974 Watergate elections. They held onto just 76 out of 177 seats. 1976 was a comeback year. … Continue reading
The McHenry County Republican Central Committee has moved. Right into my father’s and my old office space in the tip of the “V” at the Crystal Lake Plaza. In the early 1970’s, Dad has his Barley and Malt Institute office … Continue reading
The McHenry County Republican Central Committee has moved. Right into my father’s and my old office space in the tip of the “V” at the Crystal Lake Plaza. In the early 1970’s, Dad has his Barley and Malt Institute office … Continue reading
“You’re way off,” Cat Dad said. “Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley is trying to fool you into thinking his 75% sales tax increased is smaller than it really is. “Have you heard people complaining about the RTA sales tax that … Continue reading
“You’re way off,” Cat Dad said. “Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley is trying to fool you into thinking his 75% sales tax increased is smaller than it really is. “Have you heard people complaining about the RTA sales tax that … Continue reading
From the folks that brought us the 1974 RTA gas and sales tax comes the idea of turning Randall Road into a tollway. It’s not bad enough that the Illinois Department of Transportation has built four-lane highways for less traffic … Continue reading
From the folks that brought us the 1974 RTA gas and sales tax comes the idea of turning Randall Road into a tollway. It’s not bad enough that the Illinois Department of Transportation has built four-lane highways for less traffic … Continue reading