National Public Radio’s Debacle and the ‘Vibe Shift’ – Wirepoints
April 18, 2024
12 Comments
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
There are estimates that Metra will face a revenue shortfall this year of at least $331 million due to farebox and sales tax declines; The agency expects that to continue well into next year, with projected losses of another $204 million. The CTA is expected to face a shortfall this year alone of over $551 million. And transit officials say the expected Pace loss this year will be in excess of $71 million.
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Growing property tax burdens make this state unlivable for too many Illinoisans – Wirepoints joins Tom Miller of WJPF Carbondale
April 18, 2024
6 Comments
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
Illinois education officials keep trying to hide their failures behind excuse of “higher test standards” – Wirepoints
April 17, 2024
8 Comments
Illinois’ dismal education numbers – especially for minority students – are embarrassing to politicians and officials. But rather than admit there’s a problem with Illinois’ education system, they attack the state’s own standards for being “too high,” instead.
Wilmette protects government speech…but not free speech. – Wirepoints on AM 560 Chicago’s Morning Answer
April 17, 2024
4 Comments
Ted joined Dan and Amy to talk about the free speech controversy brewing in Wilmette due to the city’s refusal to fly a religious freedom flag, the city’s left-wing excesses and the growing culture war, the latest money spent on the illegal immigrant crisis, and more.
Chicago Weekly Crime Tracker – Wirepoints
April 17, 2024
77 Comments
Weekly crime statistics from the Chicago Police Department: Report through 4/14/2024.
I haven’t been into Chicago in a few years.
The city isn’t worth going to visit.
Who knew public health and public transportation were inextricably tied together? Probably anyone who has ridden Metra during flu season.
So many contradictory elements between this pandemic and today’s urban lifestyle. We’ve spent the last 3 decades promoting centralization and urbanization and trying to pack people as close as possible. McDonald’s spends all this money to move from a beautiful and spacious campus in Oak Brook to a cramped downtown office with no walls, only to realize most of their workforce is just as effective working remote.
the irony is quite delicious
I wouldn’t go near public transportation any time soon. Funny lightfoot is a nazi about locking people up for gathering, yet she still keeps the trains and busses going, encouraging folks to gather!
Has to be killing them on the red light and speed cameras too, even though they are to protect the children.
What? revenue shortfall? We must run those empty buses and trains because all these workers have union contracts! Time to increase the RTA’s .25% sales tax!
Public transportation is one of the “gotta haves” on the liberal agenda. And the busses gotta run early and late and often because of a few peoples’ schedules. An underprivileged person doesn’t get off work until 10:30 and it takes two busses to get her home. So when they try to cut back on costs, the virtue signalers unite and swarm the city council and the liberal media report it at 5 and 11. Politicians cave because they owe lots of favors. Once you bought the busses and signed the union contract, there’s no way to roll it back. Same… Read more »
I spoke with someone today who actually takes public trans. This person said they are frequently the ONLY PERSON IN THE TRAIN CAR. Kind of creepy if you think about it.
I imagine, in a few months, math will dictate some major cutbacks. And that low wage worker is just gonna have to finance a nissan sentra at 15% interest over 84 months and deal with the monthly payment to get to work after hours.
How many Sentras could you buy with the fuel and salary savings? Let alone if you could get back the cost of the extra train cars plus the interest on the bonds and the legal and consulting fees associated with bond issuance? Or (asked another way) what would be the fare for this trip if you took the cost and divided it by the passenger(s)? And looked at a third way, wouldn’t it be much easier and cheaper to write unemployment checks to those whose only job opportunities could be found at times of day or night requiring this amount… Read more »
That’s overthinking the situation. They can buy a cheap car, used car prices are collapsing right now. And gas is cheap. This hypothetical worker can drive to work instead of taking two empty buses at off hours. and just have to deal with it like 98% of the rest of america.