Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the fiscal cliff Chicago’s Transit Authority and other public transport orgs are facing, the challenge of making Republican leaders stand up for good government, the reason why the limited changes to the SAFE-T Act happened and why its a win for the reform movement, and why cash bail is needed.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Changes to Illinois’ SAFE-T Act a vindication for opponents of the law, but the Act remains dangerous to Illinoisans
- Proposed SAFE-T Act changes fall far short of the structural fixes needed
- 100 a day: Chicago motor vehicle thefts explode as SAFE-T Act changes debated
- Electronic monitoring horror show grows as lawmakers skate past SAFE-T reforms
- Chicago Transit Authority violent crime aims for five-year high in 2022; Red Line stuck in “Wild West”
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Government working at its best. Charge more, get less is the slogan.
CTA’s main functions these days
— a rolling drug market
— a mobile pot smoking lounge
— a toilet on wheels
— a hunting ground for crime-thug, super-predator, wilding mobs
— a getaway vehicle for downtown robbers
So sad. The El used to be the very symbol of Chicago. Now it’s a modern day Titanic. I can’t imagine it ever turning profit going forward.
Public transport’s goal shouldn’t be to “Make a profit.” It should be considered a public good that gets more people out of cars and gives those that cannot afford, or may not want, a car a viable option to get around the city near/in which they live and work.
I disagree. If a service can’t be provided profitably then perhaps it shouldn’t be provided at all.
When I first moved to Chicago in the 80s I thought the Red Line was neat and something we never had in Detroit unless you go way back to the street cars which were removed before my time.
Now I have the same feeling about the CTA that I have about the CPS. It fails at its primary task, is expensive, unsafe, and government subsidized union jobs program masquerading as transportation.
Services that provide a net good shouldn’t be forced to drive a profit. Millions cannot afford to own or operate a vehicle, but they still have to go to work, they still need to provide for their families. We complain about traffic, but don’t want to look into solutions that get more cars off the road, how does that compute? Public Transportation gets people to vital places, including to vital health care and jobs, it keeps a lot of the people that are the backbone of our societies moving and grooving. Every person on the Train/Bus is one less person… Read more »
The buses have become useless in their time scales and the Els (outside of rush hours) are unusable
Overnight service needs to go. That would clean out much of the crime. Those working midnight to five am, should be subsidizes by their jobs if they need to travel.
If that doesn’t work (enough) then cut back and continue until you get a workable service
Also increase police officers stationed permanently at stations. If that can’t be done, cut back on the stations served.