-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Llifeguards, concrete curbs to protect bike riders, teachers, sanctuary city for abortions, etc. With the declining tax base isn’t it time to set some priorities? It seems that everybody but politicians and public employees understands that resources are finite. If we can’t agree on priority categories then we need to move to pro rata expense reductions. In personnel-heavy budgets that means layoffs or cuts in pay/benefits. With seniority provisions in labor contracts then layoffs will be hardest on those most recently hired and so more workers will be cut. It’s a form of rationing where the old get most to… Read more »
Metra needs to get rid of the conductors. They should go to a turn style method of collecting fares like the CTA. Anyone who’s ever dealt with a Metra service delay will tell you the trains get too crowded for the conductors to collect fares. And sometimes they just don’t collect them. If you’re an attractive girl you can ride for free. I knew a woman that used to give the conductor cookies and she rode for free.
“I knew a woman that used to give the conductor cookies and she rode for free.”
DARN IT! Five plus years away from the daily grind of riding the train and NOW someone gives me the secret to free train rides. Years late and a cookie short.
The expected budget hole in 2026 is $730 million. Policymakers are considering options that include a sales tax increase, driver’s license fees, fuel taxes, car registration fees, even congestion fees.
Notice it doesn’t mention things like wage freezes, layoffs, or service reduction.
(Also, what the heck is a congestion fee?)
Transit advocates will definitely push for anything that increases the cost to drive.
A “congestion fee” is Lori Lightfoot’s latest revenue grab — a scheme that would charge drivers (like a toll booth) for going into the Loop — just exactly the thing to do if your goal is to kill off Loop businesses.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/lightfoot-eyes-congestion-fees-as-why-to-bridge-nearly-1-billion-budget-gap/
…says Bill Lachman, RTA’s budget manager and treasurer. “There’s not a way to cut ourselves out of this. It’s a funding problem, not an expense problem.” It’s always a funding problem with these people. Imagine if you are the budget director for a hot dog stand. You keep making 90% of your pre-pandemic number of hot dogs, but only sell 55% of them. The rest go into the dumpster. Do you reduce the number of hot dogs made daily? Naah. You demand that the chumbolones who would have to drive three plus hours to get to your hot dog stand… Read more »
My Chicago house is near the Brown Line on the northside. I watch every day this summer empty train after empty train go by every 10 -15 minuets. Its completely obvious that we don’t need that many trains any more but yet they keep the empty trains rolling.
RTA, The Deep Tunnel on Wheels! Nobody uses the services we can provide! Hmmmm……wonder why?
CTA is last millennium’s failed transportation model — time for it to be scrapped
I don’t object to mass transit per se, but the idea that people in rural or suburban areas who have no use for busses or trains have to cough up extra cash for a driver’s license or license plates to cover for people with no car or the means for one I have an issue with.
If you can’t charge people a higher ticket price, OR, reduce service, staffing, and costs, you have a failed business model.
Public trans will always need to be subsidized. It hasn’t been profitable or self-sufficient since the days of trolley cars and even then the government bought them out. Public trans also has utility – Chicagoland’s business center was downtown, and until the pandemic, it was necessary to transport 1,000,000+ people into the loop and surrounding neighborhoods 5 days a week, 250 days a year. I personally lived off CTA and Metra train lines for 20 years and it was a great utility to get around the city. Europe is known for its amazing public transit and it makes cities livable.… Read more »
Crime is a big factor. Ridership will not return to a downtown area even if there is a perception of encountering violent crime. This is what is often overlooked in Citadel’s departure. Merely the fact that crime was mentioned as the reason for the departure will cause others to ask the same question. The current crop of politicians will not deal with this issue. But it is real.
I live in Evanston, used to work in Ravenswood, so I took the Purple Line Express down to Belmont, then changed to the Brown Line up to Montrose. So a decent and not too shabby 40 – minute commute, did not mind it a bit. Then when we started to return to the office last year, there were many bums, panhandlers, and skeevy people on these nearly empty trains, did not feel safe at all. So I found a job in Evanston, and won’t even consider using the CTA again – this is a major factor in keeping normal folk… Read more »