McHenry County Blog

“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 went into effect April Fool's Day?

“Boy, are we fools to be paying that extra half cent on a dollar to bail out the CTA!” Cat Dad said.

"Sure, the McHenry County Board is going to get half of it, but they won't spend it all on roads, the way they should.

“Try again, Keely.

“Look higher.

“Mayor Shepley's sales tax hike is a 75% sales tax hike.

“That's really high.”

"Maybe you are right," Keely replied, upon reflection.

"Now can I have some cat candy?"

Labels: 75% Sales Tax Hike, Aaron Shepley, Crystal Lake, CTA, Keely, McHenry County Board, RTA Sales Tax, Sale Tax

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 than drives past our home in Lakewood every day.

Don't know where Lakewood is?

It's a suburb of Crystal Lake.

So desperate were McHenry and Kane County Board members to cope with congestion that they forced local taxpayers to pay an additional local motor fuel tax, a lot of which went to build that road. Property tax money was also used. And there was some state money provided.

The state should have paid for the whole road and it should be a state highway.

Compare the traffic counts on Randall Road to those on Route 67.

You know about the relative importance of Route 67, don't you?

Well, if you have a kid at Western Illinois University, chances are that you have taken it.

More cars go in front of my house every day than use parts of Route 67.

And many, many times more use Randall Road than use Route 67.

There are four-lane highways like Route 67 all over rural Illinois.

They were supposed to provide economic development, but four-lane highways were not needed to attract Motorola to build a now abandoned cell phone plant just north of Harvard.

Other factors are at work in plant location.

In any event, all the four-lane highways Downstate have not stopped its depopulation.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday and Elgin's Courier News Monday that an outfit called the Metropolitan Planning Council want to meddle in the Fox River Valley beyond their support of the April 1st imposition of another half cent sales tax on every dollar.

Here's the headline that caught my attention:


That coming sales tax hike is supposed to bail out the RTA and the CTA with half originally going to help us build roads the state refuses to take proper responsibility for.

Now these geniuses, most of whom probably could not even find Randall Road, want to impose “congestion pricing.”

This group of meddling city folk and limousine and railroad liberals don't want to raise taxes.

Oh, no.

They just want to charge people more money if they go to work when ordinary people go to work.

They call for “user fees.”

If they succeed, every time you pay your “user fee,” repeat after me,


Of course, neither is a toll a tax.

Oh, I forgot.

It's a user fee.

Or, as regional policy and transportation director Michael McLaughlin told the Sun-Times:

"User fees are an honest tax, because you know what it's going for."

So, Mr. McLaughlin, why didn't you suggest increasing user fees on Chicago Transit Authority riders during rush hour instead of collecting more collar county sales taxes?

Oh, I forgot.

That would have meant you and your organization weren't hypocritical.

= = = =
Please do not confuse this article with this earlier one.

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, Congestion Pricing, CTA, Kane County, McHenry County, Metropolitan Planning Council, Michael McLaughlin, Randall Road, RTA, User Fee

The following letter arrived from State Representative Mike Tryon.

I am happy to pass it on.

Dear Friend,

Last week the Democrat-controlled House and Senate voted to raise the taxes of McHenry County residents in order to bail out Chicago’s mass transit system, who’s years of mismanagement put them so deep in debt that they’re once again raising taxes just to maintain the status quo.

The Democrat’s legislation will impose a $500 million tax increase including a quarter point sales tax increase in suburban Cook County and a half point sales tax increase in the collar counties.

This raises the per capita sales tax in Chicago by $20 to $100 for a family of five.

In McHenry County, it raises the per capita sales tax by $62 to $310 for a family of five.

For McHenry County, this legislation increases our tax burden higher than Chicago’s, with only a small fraction of our residents using a mass transit system.

This tax increase will come with no expansion of services, no additional routes for McHenry County, no decrease in commuting time, and no road or infrastructure improvements in McHenry County.

This is a short-term fix for a mismanaged Chicago transportation system.

The only guarantee this tax increase will bring is another doomsday scenario as this legislation does nothing to address the capital needs of the mass transit system.

The CTA has already stated that without a capital bill to repair aging tracks, trains, wheels, buses and a host of other infrastructure needs, another doomsday is expected.

Additionally, this tax increase promises that seniors will be paying more for essential items like groceries and prescription drugs.

I opposed this sales tax increase along with a number of my House Republican colleagues.

Instead of raising taxes, the Illinois House Republicans believe the best way to increase state revenue is to create jobs and to invest in the economy.

I will continue to call for a capital bill to ensure that funding is provided for crucial road projects, bridge repairs, and school construction in McHenry County and throughout the state.

Sincerely,

Michael W. Tryon
Illinois State Representative
64th District

Labels: CTA, Joe Stevens, John Ryan, Mike Tryon, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax, Ruth Munson, Tim Schmitz

$9 million more a year for the County Board to spend.

No pain.

Except on us taxpayers.

Absolutely no effort on the county board’s part.

Not even a county board vote.

The best kind of a tax hike.

One someone else takes the heat for.

No need to pass a sales tax increase as has been done twice in the Rockford area, once for a new jail and once for roads.

Free money.

And, we have DuPage County Republicans to thank.

So, thanks, DuPage County Republicans.

Oh, they didn’t do it by themselves.

Chicago Democratic Party legislators did most of the heavy lifting.

That’s appropriate because Chicago’s CTA gets most of the money.

But, let’s remember what three DuPage County state senators--doing the dirty work of DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom--did to us.

Originally, the bribe for the McHenry County Board was to be $9 million earmarked for roads and public transportation. (Wasn't that supposed to be RTA's job?)

Here's the language:

"to fund operating and capital costs of public transportation services or facilities or to fund operating, capital, right-of-way, construction, and maintenance costs of other transportation purposes, including road, bridge, public safety, and transit purposes intended to improve mobility or reduce congestion in the county."

Proportionate amounts for all the collar counties.

But, for the most part, that was not sufficient enticement to merit a “Yes” vote on House Bill 656 from either collar county Republicans or Democrats.

None of the legislators representing McHenry County were part of the cabal that forced this 7.7% sales tax hike down our throats.

Then, the big-spending DuPage County Republicans, led by County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom, decided that wasn’t good enough.

They wanted to spend the money on “public safety,” not roads.

So, the current DuPage County Republican County Chairman, Dan Cronin, conspired with the immediate past GOP chairman, Kirk Dillard, and the two convinced a third, newly minted DuPage County state senator, John Miller, to vote for the CTA bailout bill with an amendment that would allow the road money to be spent on the sheriff’s department and other public safety desires.

They didn’t come up with this idea on their own.

Their DuPage County Board Chairman Schillerstrom convinced them.

Hey, better than sweating out whether the voters would approve a half-cent sales tax in February 5th’s primary election, right?

Why let the people decide when three state senators can do the job so much quicker?

So much less messy.

And, remember that name Schillerstrom.

He wants to run for statewide office.

Note to any primary opponents: contact me.

So, now the McHenry County Board has almost twice the current state Motor Fuel Tax subsidy of $4.6 million to spend every year.

Now, the question is how to spend it.

The opposition coalition, by the way, was similar to 1974’s when the few Republicans who voted in favor of the Regional Transportation Authority’s creation, went down to defeat.

Think House Speaker and bill sponsor Bob Blair (R-Will County) and senate sponsor John Connelly (R-Lake County).

Labels: CTA, Dan Cronin, Dave Millner, Kirk Dillard, McHenry County Board, Regional Transportation Authority, Robert Schillerstrom, RTA Sales Tax

Look at these headlines and tell me that anyone outside of Chicago won in the RTA sales tax bill passed yesterday.

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax

Here’s what Bethany Jaeger of Illinois Issues wrote on Illinoize:

On a lighter note: The highlight of the debate, at least for chocolate lovers, was Rep. Jack Frank's comparison of the governor to a 3-year-old dripping in chocolate and running through a clothing store, touching all the linens and leaving a mess for everyone else to clean up. Franks is a Woodstock Democrat who often has harsh words for the governor.

Labels: Chocolate, CTA, Jack Franks, Regional Transportation Authority, Rod Blagojevich, RTA, RTA Sales Tax

Yesterday, I held forth on how the Chicago Tribune's bad, bad advice for more Republicans to vote for the RTA sales tax bill (Senate Bill 656) would further decimate suburban Republicans in the legislature.

Today, I turn to the root cause of the problem:

DuPage County's rapacious county officials.

You know, the ones who never have enough money and--in the worst way--do not want to have to ask their constituents for permission to raise their taxes.

It's as if this black cloud sweeping over Chicago has reversed course and headed due West.

The cloud of high taxes, heavier tax burdens.

In the State Senate, three DuPage County Republicans took a dive for DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and voted for the CTA/RTA bailout:

• Dan Cronin
• Kirk Dillard and
• John Millner

This fall, how will any of these suburban Republicans explain why railroad commuter fares soared, even though RTA sales taxes only increased 25% in Cook County,while tripling in DuPage County? (And, yes, I know the county folks are going to take half of the increase.)

Maybe the senators are not up for election.

In an article by Meg Dedolph, the Naperville Sun reports the blowback that Schillerstrom is getting from

• State Rep. Joe Dunn of Naperville,
• State Sen. Randy Hultgren of Wheaton and
• State Rep. Jim Meyer of Bolingbrook

And, Schillerstrom should be taking grief.

"All" he has to do is pass a February 5th referendum to impose a quarter cent county sales tax and the legislation would not be needed.

Winnebago County did it by referendum.

Why can't DuPage, if it is really needed and the "will of people?"

But local officials like Schillerstrom, of course, simply don't trust the will of his people?

Local officials always want state legislators to take the heat for raising local taxes.

My belief is that those who spend tax dollars should take the responsibility for raising them...or at least proposing raising them. If they can convince a majority of the electorate to approve a referendum, they should feel free to pass the blame.

Undoubtedly there will be consequences.

The obvious one will be to give a boost to Democrats in DuPage County.

Let me tell you a consequence that may be unintended, but one which could affect national politics.

After misreading the Senate roll call on SB 656, I wrote an article about how State Senator Debbie Halvorson's "Yes" vote could hurt her in her attempt to win Jerry Weller's congressional seat. I have apologized elsewhere for my mistake, but I do so again.

Nevertheless, the three DuPage County Republican state senators who cast "Yes" votes allowed Halvorson to skate. She is recorded as not voting.

Now, if her vote had been required and cast, the chain of logic I laid out in my article showing how Republicans could benefit would be in play.

If Halvorson wins the seat for the Democrats, fingers ought to be pointed at Schillerstrom and these three state senators for helping allow it to happen.

Of course, she still might be required to vote "Yes," if the DuPage County senators change their minds and vote "No" on the amendatory veto. One is the GOP county chairman and another is immediate past chairman. Too bad they haven't shown their concern for the GOP's future in their RTA votes.

But, they have another chance to help undo the damage they have inflicted on the Republican Party's anti-tax brand.

Schillerstrom is following in the footsteps of DuPage County Republicans in the 1980’s. Then the biggest legislative goal of DuPage County officials was to get their legislators to raise local taxes without a referendum.

They succeeded. Think DuPage County Airport's and Water Commission's, not to mention the school and park districts' borrowing without asking voters. I once had a study done by the Legislative Research Council that found about 90% of the outstanding debt in DuPage County resulted from non-referendum bonds.

No wonder there was a revolt.

DuPage County successful hiking of taxes without referendums led to Governor Jim Edgar’s property tax cap proposal.

I guess we outside of DuPage County should thank its taxpayers for allowing us to have the protection that they did not have when they needed it.

Labels: Bob Schillerstrom, CTA, Dan Cronin, Dave Millner, Debbie Halvorson, DuPage County, Jerry Weller, Jim Meyer, Joe Dunn, Kirk Dillard, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA Sales Tax, Senate Bill 656

Must saves the bus and train seats of Tribune readers.

How else can one explain the huge front page story on today’s Chicago Tribune?

It's not Monday.

Monday is transportation reporter Jon Hilkevitch’s day to shine.

Most of his stories are not time sensitive, so that’s when the Tribune usually runs them.

This one comes on a Wednesday, though.

One day before the Illinois House is scheduled to vote on Governor Rod Blagojevich’s amendatory veto to give me a free ride anytime I want to take the train to Chicago.

And, it's only going to cost one half a billion dollars a year. I note that little tidbit is not in the Tribune editorial.

It gives legislators another chance to save collar county residents from a 200% increase of the RTA sales tax in the collar counties while Cook’s County’s hike is only 25%.

And, yes, I know that the collar county boards have been bribed with half of the increase.

Yesterday, the Tribune asked for the veto to be overridden.

I wrote a story entitled,


"Hey, you Republicans" the Tribune urges.

"Jump on board."

Do more to damage your anti-tax brand that State Senators Dan Cronin, Kirk Dillard and Dave Millner already have.

Right.

Give the Democrats more targets than they already have in Beth Coulson, Rosemary Mulligan and Sid Mathias.

Got to congratulate Democratic Party State Representative Julie Hamos.

She certainly has stuck it to the collar counties.

Labels: Beth Coulson, CTA, Dan Conin, Dave Millner, Julie Hamos, Kirk Dillard, Regional Transportation Authority, Rosemary Mulligan, RTA, Sidney Mathias

The Chicago Tribune has come up with the best way to thwart a comeback for suburban Republicans that I have seen in a long time.

Vote to override Governor Rod Blagojevich’s free ride for seniors amendatory veto, the Tribune editorial board advises in its editorial


It should be entitled,


Give us ten more GOP House votes, the Tribune pleads.

Six more in the Senate.

Don't worry about touching the CTA rail with the electricity. Let us editorial board members worry about that.

They're really saying,


Maybe they didn't look at their own paper's sales tax map the day they wrote the editorial. (Click to enlarge.)


Collar county RTA sales taxes tripled (1/4% up to 3/4%, with 1/4% an unrequested and unneeded gift to county government), while those in Cook County--where people use most mass transit--only went up 25%, from 1% to 1 1/4%.

McHenry County stores will be charging 7% because of the geniuses who voted for Senate Bill 656 (except in Algonquin, which already has us paying more).

As it is, only four suburban Republican House members--all from Cook County--are on the bad roll call:

• Beth Coulson
• Carolyn Krause
• Sid Mathias and
• Rosemary Mulligan

Mathias broke his word to at least one of his constituents and seems to be having second thoughts since there were 62 votes. Maybe it's because 60 votes are necessary to pass a bill. He and one other Republican or Democrat can have it both ways on this bill by voting "No" on the amendatory veto.

Maybe Mathias has also figured out that Metra is poised to hike fares 10% before the primary election. Good thing for Mathias that Scott Bludorn is occupied with the Ron Paul presidential effort, instead of running against him in the GOP primary again.

And, Rosemary Mulligan, fearing a hot general election, has stepped into a tar pit. Whom will she appeal to? The commuters whose fares will leap or the car drivers who could care less what it costs to ride mass transit. Mike Madigan's attack dogs can tear into her from both directions.

Tomorrow: The role of DuPage County in this fiasco.

Labels: Beth Coulson, Carolyn Krause, Chicago Tribune, CTA, Regional Transportation Authority, Rosemary Mulligan, RTA Sales Tax, Senate Bill 656, Sidney Mathias, Third Rail

That’s how legislators representing McHenry County voted on the bill to increase the RTA sales tax from one-quarter of one percent to three-quarters of one percent.

The two state senators--Pam Althoff and Bill Peterson--and the three state representatives--Mark Beaubien, Jack Franks and Mike Tryon—all voted against House Bill 656.

Here’s my estimate of the annual cost.

And, of course, Governor Rod Blagojevich has announced his intention to break yet another campaign promise.

Labels: Bill Peterson, Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Jack Franks, Mark Beaubien, Mike Tryon, PACE, Pam Althoff, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax

With Governor Rod Blagojevich announcing that those over 65 can ride the rails and buses for free, I see an unintended consequence.

You’ve heard about Charlie, who had to ride Boston’s MTW forever because he didn’t have the dime to get off.

Well, with free fares, homeless seniors can ride CTA buses and trains and Metra trains for as long as they want.

Now, they will have to schedule their route so they don’t end up in Harvard, at the end of the line, without a way back, but, with some skill, the homeless will be able to keep warm on frigid days.

Certainly, some homeless advocate group will provide such schedules.

= = = = =
I posted this on Illinoize as well and I have to share this comment:

Now, if only he could get nurse-practioners on the trains, paid for by slots at all Metra stations of course, then he'd have his healthcare plan!

Labels: CTA, Homeless, Homeless Advocate, Regional Transportation Authority, Rod Blagojevich, RTA

In reporting the 57-53 defeat of the bill to force every Illinois citizen to pay $30 to subsidize the CTA/RTA last Thursday, the Chicago Tribune had this sentence:

”Senate President Emil Jones earlier called the construction and gambling package the ‘big elephant that’s in the room.’’

That immediately reminded me of an elephant we saw at Disney World during Thanksgiving week.

Armed with my long lens, I was besieged with instructions from my family to take a picture of this or that animal on our “safari.”

I didn’t get this elephant’s dump in motion. It is in the “splat” stage.

And its stinky mess is what I think a greatly expanded gambling will smell like in Illinois.

Maybe worse.

= = = = =
McHenry County Blog doesn't have smell-a-vision, but you can get a better look by clicking on the photograph.

Labels: Casinos, Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Dung, Elephant, Emil Jones, Gambiling, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA

In the

category is the Legislative Information Systems’ failure to post the roll call on the CTA/RTA bailout bill last night.

Even this morning when I called to ask why, it wasn’t up.

There was an asterisk next to the notation, but there was no note below. (Click below to enlarge the image.)

The person I talked to said that there had been a motion to reconsider by State Rep. Gary Hannig.

“So what?” I thought.

A vote was taken and it wasn’t put on postponed consideration.

Well, as I write this, it’s 11 o’clock in the morning and the roll call has magically appeared.

I believe it is worth noting that newspapers and radio stations without someone on the scene would not be able to report this morning how local legislators voted.

All three of McHenry County’s delegation—Jack Franks, Mike Tryon and Mark Beaubien vote against the measure.

House Republican Leader Tom Cross, whose idea was the guts of the bill voted “Present.”

Maybe he was thinking how people in Kendall County would react to his proposal to force each man, woman and child to subsidize the Chicago Transit Authority and Regional Transportation Authority $30 this year.

The roll call is here.

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Jack Franks, Mark Beaubien, Mike Tryon, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, SB 307, Senate Bill 307, Tom Cross

Besides posting my little analysis of the Tom Cross-Mike Madigan-Richard Daley-Rod Blagojevich CTA/RTA bailout plan on McHenry County Blog, I put it up on Illinoize.

Hosted by Rich Miller, Illinoize is a blog on which he allows various folks with political thoughts to share their work.

Miller took note of my discovery that passing the $385 million subsidy for the Chicago Transit Authority and the RTA would amount to $30 for every man, woman and child and could be used politically against any supporter living outside of the six-county Chicago metropolitan area. (And, maybe within, now that I think about it.)

Here’s what he said on his superblog Capitol Fax Blog:

* To get a small idea of how politically volatile the new bailout proposal is, read this commentary by former state Rep. Cal Skinner…

Say you are from Downstate, also known as anything outside of the six-county Chicago metropolitan area served by the Regional Transportation Authority.

$385 million [GRF transit bailout] divided by the state’s population of 12,831,970 (Commerce Department figure) is what?

$30.

So, an opponent could send a mailing to a Downstate legislator’s district saying anyone who voted for this deal voted to force a family of four to send $120 to Chicago.

Or robo calls could be made. Even cheaper.

Whatever you may think of Cal, he’s right.

In his Capitol Fax, Miller wrote:

As former Republican state Rep. Cal Skinner points out, the state bailout of the Chicago area’s transit systems represents about $30 for every man, woman and child in Illinois. That’ll go over well with Downstaters, I’m sure. Not. I’ll have a link to Skinner’s analysis at the blog.

Labels: Capitol Fax Blog, Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Illinoize, Regional Transportation Authority, Rich Miller, RTA

So, what’s the potential downside for voting for the Mike Madigan-Tom Cross CTA-RTA bailout deal?

$385,000,000 coming right off the top of the Illinois General Revenue Fund.

No replacement money identified.

More pressure to pass an income tax hike or a massive expansion of gambling.

Hey, we could follow South Dakota’s example and have little casinos where mom could gamble while the kids eat at McDonald’s almost within sight right through the archway.


But, let’s look at how a political opponent might characterize the proposal.

Say you are from Downstate, also known as anything outside of the six-county Chicago metropolitan area served by the Regional Transportation Authority.

$380 million divided by the state’s population of 12,831,970 (Commerce Department figure) is what?

$30.

So, an opponent could send a mailing to a Downstate legislator’s district saying anyone who voted for this deal voted to force a family of four to send $120 to Chicago.

Or robo calls could be made. Even cheaper.

I mentioned in an earlier post how Zeke Giorgi’s polling results went down because of RTA. Wasn’t it Jeff Mays that rode to office in Quincy when his opponent was charged with having been “taken for a ride by the CTA?”

Multiply $30 times a Downstate county’s population.

Here’s one.

Effingham County had 34,429 people as of mid-2006.

$30 times 34,429 means residents are being force to pay over $1 million to subsidize the Chicago Transit Authority.

Every year.

At least that is what an opponent could credibly assert.

Boy, could a “Yes” vote on this bill create some good campaigns.

And, probably some upsets.

If not this election cycle, then in some future year.

= = = = =

Enlarge the photo by clicking on it and you will be able to read the name of the casino.

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Mike Madigan, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, Tom Cross

So, what should Family PAC's Paul Caprio do?

Declare victory because his campaign to kill the RTA sales tax hike succeeded.

House Speaker Mike Madigan has played medical examiner and pronounced it dead.

Instead of raising sales taxes in the six county area, Madigan indicates he is willing to accept House Republican Leader Tom Cross's plan to rip $380 off the top of the General Fund.

While most lobbying organizations attempt to convince their members to call their legislators on an issue, Family PAC commissioned phone calls to be made to eleven legislators' constituents.

Now one quarter of one percent in the collar counties, the RTA sales tax proposal would have increased it to three quarters of one percent.

That doesn’t sound like much, but my calculations for McHenry County families led me to conclude that it would cost an extra $200 per year for each family.

That would have been a pretty steep price to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority.

At this point, let me point out that an attempt was made to buy off collar county board members. Half of their sales tax hike would go for roads. What no one mentions is that county boards, if they have the guts to propose it, could already ask voters to approve a sales tax hike to finance roads.

This CTA bail-out bill would have allowed collar county boards to short circuit the sales tax referendum process.

No “short circuit” is too kind a word.

It would have allowed county board members to ignore their constituents.

But, back to what Family PAC did.

Caprio targeted eleven suburban legislators and poured 90,000 phone calls into their suburban districts.

Whose staffs got the privilege of fielding the calls?

Republican Beth Coulson of Glenview
Republican Sandra Pihos of Glen Ellyn
Republican Ruth Munson of Elgin
Democrat Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates
Recently turned Democrat Paul Froehlich
Republican Sandy Cole of Grayslake
Democrat Careen Gordon of Morris
Republican Renee Kosel of New Lenox
Republican Mike Fortner of West Chicago
Republican Joe Dunn of Naperville
Republican Mark Beaubien of Barrington Hills
Republican Ed Sullivan of Mundelein
Republican JoAnn Osmond of Antioch

“As a result of these calls and other grassroots pressure,” Caprio wrote, “Madigan did not have the votes to pass the sales tax increase which would have cost taxpayers in Cook and the collars more than $380 million annually to further subsidize a failed transit system.

“We won this battle, but as long as the Legislature is still in Session the threat of a tax hike continues.

“State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna also worked hard in opposing the Tax Increase and House Minority Leader Tom Cross came out against it. It is amazing to me what we can accomplish when we all work together. Lets keep up the pressure!”

How about that?

A political action committee actually doing something to keep taxes from being hiked.

Labels: Andy McKenna, Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Ed Sullivan, Family PAC, JoAnn Osmond, Mark Beaubien, Mike Madigan, Paul Caprio, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA Sales Tax, Sandy Cole

With the filing deadline for state legislator being Monday afternoon, most potentially vulnerable incumbents will probably think they vote for a CTA/RTA bailout or tax hike with impunity.

After all, no one can get 1,000 signatures after the vote and before the filing deadline.

None, but House Speaker Mike Madigan, will remember the outspoken suburban Republicans who bit the dust because of their support of the Regional Transportation Authority tax hikes in 1974.

Just to remind you, House Speaker Bob Blair, the RTA’s House sponsor, and the Senate sponsor, John Connolly, a Republican from Lake County, both lost to Democrats in the fall of 1974.

Because of their outspoken support of RTA.

Just because a suburban Republican doesn’t have a Democrat running against them yet, doesn’t mean one won’t pop up, if a suburban Republican casts the wrong vote.

Others, like Tim Schmitz, already have a primary opponent. His is Jim Krenz.

Thursday, Krenz issued the following press release warning that a "Yes" CTA bailout vote would be a primary election issue.

Other suburban Republicans rationalize they are about to “do the right thing.”

Just like Governor Rod Blagojevich in his rationalization that taking the sales tax money now collected on Motor Fuel (and, now that you mention it, on the MFT itself) won’t be labeled as a re-imposition of the RTA gas tax. (Can it really be possible that House Republican Leader Tom Cross came up with this idea and sold it to his buddy Rod?)

I don’t know where Blagojevich was in the late 1970’s as a revolution against the RTA was building statewide, but I can safely predict that someone will raise the same objections again, if he agrees to impose what amounts to another RTA gas tax to bail out the CTA.

They will point out, as my allies and I did, that when you take money from general revenue (sales taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, for example), it can be prorated to show how much everyone in Illinois is subsidizing the Chicago Transit Authority.

After all, the money comes right off the top.

Ask Mike McClain, the only state rep. younger than I was when he and I served in the House, why he lost his Quincy seat. I’ll bet he’ll remember the radio ads shouting that he was “taken for a ride by the CTA.”

That's the issue that got Lynn Martin elected to the Illinois House in Rockford the only time Zeke Giorgi ran third.

Downstaters who don’t think potential opponents can figure out a similar issue to use against them are deluding themselves.

Dave Winters, who seems prepared to vote for the CTA bailout, comes to mind.

So, it doesn’t matter whether one is a suburbanite or a Downstater.

You may be thinking you are “doing the right thing.”

And, you may well get whatever you are promised for your vote.

But with Blagojevich being governor, don’t count on it.

Think about Blagojevich’s promise to re-open the Lincoln Developmental Center, both during the 2002 campaign and in a legislative deal that a certain Springfield state senator was positive would be fulfilled.

Unfortunately, if you vote for the CTA bailout, it won’t be until too late that you will realize that your tax hike bailout vote can and will be used against you.

If not next year, then in future election contests.

Suburbanites who are forced to drive to work don’t take kindly to being forced to help pay for rides to work of those fortunate enough to take the train to and from work.

Surely suburban legislators can figure out that the cost of commuting by car has increased a lot in the last year or so. I can guarantee those driving to work know that. They will not understand why train fares have not increased proportionately and they are being forced to take up the slack.

And Downstate constituents won’t like it when they are told how much they are personally being forced to pay to subsidize Chicagoans' bus and train rides to and from work because of your vote to bail out the CTA.

Tim Schmitz’ opponent Jim Krenz’ press release follows:

KRENZ ASKS SCHMITZ
TO VOTE NO ON TAX INCREASE

MASSIVE PROPOSED TAX INCREASE
TO FUND TRANSIT FOR CHICAGO REGION

CARPENTERSVILLE, IL November 1, 2007 – Republican candidate Jim Krenz, who is running for State Representative in the 49th District, called on his opponent Tim Schmitz (R-Batavia) to vote NO on proposed legislation to increase taxes in order to fund mass transit in the Chicago region, which would help fund the CTA, Metra and PACE. The proposed legislation would increase taxes by tens of billions of dollars.

“I am calling on Schmitz to vote NO on this proposed legislation to increase taxes by billions of dollars,” said Jim Krenz. “Taxpayers should not be obligated to bailout the habitually mismanaged government agencies that have squandered taxpayers dollars and patience to this point.”

In order to bailout the CTA, Metra and PACE, Illinois lawmakers are looking at a quarter of a percent hike in the regional sales tax.

“Schmitz is being called out here because he has a past history of raising taxes,” said Krenz. “Over the years Schmitz has raised taxes over $100,000,000. I call on Schmitz to put a stop to political deal making and protect the 49th district and the rest of the Chicagoland area.”

Jim Krenz is running for the Republican nomination for State Representative in the 49th District. Krenz, a lifelong resident of the Fox Valley region, is running his election on important issues such as pro-life, lower taxes, slashing government waste, opposing illegal immigration, supporting 2nd amendment rights and reforming the current health care situation. One day after his announcement to seek the Republican nomination in the 49th District, Krenz pledged to wave his legislative pension if elected because it was a waste of tax payer dollars and unfair to the general public to have to pay for it. The Primary Election will take place on February 5, 2008. The 49th District covers St. Charles, Geneva, South Elgin, Elgin, Hampshire, Gilberts, West Dundee, Carpentersville and other communities in Northern Kane County.

Labels: 49th District, Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Dave Winters, Jim Krenz, Mike Madigan, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Gas Tax, Tim Schmitz

Look what I found on ebay while looking up the McHenry County Clerk’s election result web site.

It’s a “McVote 1986” glass from McDonald’s.

And, you think sales taxes are high here at 6.5% (higher in Algonquin--7.25%--and Lake in the Hills--7%)?

The ebay seller points out that buyers from New York state must add 8.125% sales tax.

Of course, when Chicago Democrats have their way and raise out sales taxes 7.7% (one-half of a percentage point divided by 6.5%) to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority, our sales tax will be pretty high, too.

As a sop, half of the 7 hike will be given to local county board members--about $9 million a year of sales taxes extracted without our permission--to use for road building.

Of course, some of our legislations may give our permission for us by voting for the CTA bailout bill.

Governor Rod Blagojevich says he will veto the bill, but like his veto a property tax cap busting bill for a four cent per $100 special recreation real estate tax hike without a referendum, the governor veto it, but do nothing to encourage legislators sustain his veto.

So, like the kids in the cartoon “Family Circus,” he can say, “Not Me!”

And, Republicans will justifiably take the blame for the sales tax hike.

Labels: CTA, ebay, McDonald's, McVote, Rod Blagojevich, RTA Sales Tax

Recently Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross has reportedly suggested using the sales tax now collected on gasoline and diesel fuel to subsidize mass transit.

Maybe that makes as much sense as using that sales tax on health care or other general state government expenditures (as is the case now), but it reminds me of how the people who drafted the original Regional Transportation Authority law really wanted to punish car drivers.

They put it another way.

Taxing people for the gasoline they used and where people parked their cars in the city would encourage them to take trains and buses.

These Chicago-centric social engineers had no clue that most people in the Chicago metropolitan area could not take trains and buses to work if they wanted to.

That meant the gas and parking taxes were simply punishments to be meted out by the allies the social engineers figured would be appointed to the RTA Board.

Let’s set aside the fact that Illinois is one of very few states that levies both a motor fuel tax and, then, applies a sales tax on the cost of the fuel, plus the motor fuel taxes, state and federal.

Let’s ask if Cross is so young that he doesn’t remember the RTA gas tax. It was a 5% sales tax on gasoline and the tax on gasoline, federal and state.

RTA was barely enacted (less than a 2,000 vote margin with paper ballots) by referendum in 1974 while I was a freshman state representative.

The opposition was so strong to the gas tax that it wasn’t until a financial “emergency” that the Board approved the authorized 5 percent gas tax. It was in Woodstock at its one and only meeting held in McHenry County. (Naturally, McHenry County residents demonstrated, protest signs and all. The RTA Board never returned to McHenry County. Naturally, none of the board members or staff took the train.)

Now, word filters out that John Filan, Governor Rod Blagojevich’s ex-budget guy, now “Chief Operating Officer,” favors taxing every parking space in the six-county area to subsidize the Regional Transportation Authority.

Guess what?

That idea has been tried and found wanting, too.

Such a tax was imposed on commercial parking lots, but repealed after Downtown Chicago businesses figured out that they didn’t need another disincentive for suburban shoppers.

During 1974, I thought my colleague State Rep. Don Deuster (R-Mundelien) went over the top by claiming that the RTA Act would allow the taxation of church parking lots.

Maybe he was just 33 years ahead of his time.

No, I’m wrong.

Churches would be exempted under Filan's proposal.

It would tax every commercial parking space, whether free to the customer or not.

Get ready for grocery prices and prices of everything else you drive to buy to increase.

Regardless of what failed in the first ten years of RTA's history, today’s politicians are doing their very best to recreate that past.

Enrage those who cannot tax mass transit by forcing them to subsidize those who are fortunate enough to be able to do so.

What will be the result?

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, John Filan, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Gas Tax, RTA Parknig Tax, Tom Cross

I was struck by the number 266% in last Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown’s headline.

The incredible Chicago Democratic Party tax hiking machine, this time embodied by Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, wants to impose another two percentage point sales tax hike.

That would bring in about $1 billion.

Put in percentage terms, it’s a 266% hike.

While opposing this 266% sales tax increase, Brown has endorsed the RTA sales tax hike proposal. The Cook County proposal to hike the sales tax from 1/4 of one percent to 2.75 percent is taking flak, but the RTA one keeps chugging along, powered now by visions of casino donations in legislators heads.

In McHenry and other collar counties, that plan would increase sales taxes from 1/4 of one percent to 3/4 of one percent.

Yes, I know that 1/4 of one percentage point will be for road improvements, but there is already a law on the books that allows the imposition of such taxes after passage of a referendum. If McHenry County Board members wants that tax, let them ask for it. Instead of bringing up that topic, they are discussing revising the county's seal.

Do the math.

Dividing 1/4 of one percent into the proposed 1/2 of one percent increase gives us a 200% RTA sales tax increase doesn’t it?

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Mark Brown, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax

"No Capital? No CTA!" reads the headline on State Rep. Mike Tryon's "legislative update."

It has a wonderful train analogy to describe the effect on McHenry County of the bill to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority under consideration:


It points out that "less than one percent of those in McHenry County use mass transit."

Then Tryon writes,

"If the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 are not willing to talk about the overall transportation needs of McHenry County, I cannot support their legislation."

Is that a hint he can vote for the half percentage point sales tax increase?

A 7.7 percent increase in McHenry County's sales tax. Half which would go to the RTA (read CTA) and half to the McHenry County Board with which to build roads.

Let's read the sentence again:

"If the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 are not willing to talk about the overall transportation needs of McHenry County, I cannot support their legislation."

And, here's another hint for you to interpret at your leisure:

"I am committed to working with the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 to create a plan that addresses both mass transit and roads."

This reminds me so, so much of how an eastern Illinois ex-sheriff state representative agreed to vote for the creation of the RTA when Dave Caravello, one of Governor Dan Walker's legislative people, offered not to fire one of the Republican's buddies, if he'd vote for the RTA bill.

The price is bigger here. I'll grant that.

But we had state approval to build the Western Bypass and Governor Rod Blagojevich took it away.

Now, it sounds as if Tryon is willing to vote for higher taxes in order to get back what was already ours.

The legislative update does not mention in the legislative report how more roads will be financed, but increased gambling has been mentioned widely elsewhere.

The only specific road improvement mentioned is the Western Bypass. There is no mention of the Bolz Road bridge, without which the Western Bypass will not work. Local municipal and county officials seem intent on making people pay a toll to use the Bolz Road bridge (see Please Make Me Pay Twice), which means, of course, that those who don't want to pay a toll will continue to cross the Fox River at Route 62.

Here's the whole press release:

The scheduled doomsday for the Chicago Transit Authority has been postponed for now due to another band-aid approach thought up by Governor Blagojevich. True to form, Governor Blagojevich decided to throw cash at the problem, loaning the CTA $200 million to avoid the mass transit fare hikes promised by the CTA.

The Governor’s loan came after the Illinois House rejected the RTA’s proposal to bail out the state’s mass transit system. Although I strongly support the need for mass transit in Illinois, I adamantly opposed Senate Bill 572. The RTA, which heads up the CTA, Pace and Metra, is extremely important in servicing the state’s transportation needs. However, Senate Bill 572 would have worked well for Chicago, but not for the taxpayers of McHenry County.

McHenry County residents would have been on the fast track to nowhere if Senate Bill 572 would have passed the General Assembly. The legislation would have increased the sales tax in McHenry County by a half a cent, without offering any improvements to the mass transit services offered in McHenry. The sales tax revenue per capita in McHenry County is approximately $30; this bill would have hiked it up to $90 per person, which is almost what Chicago taxpayers are paying now. Additionally, the legislation would have restructured the RTA governing board, forcing McHenry and Kane Counties to share a representative on the board. This paints the perfect picture of taxation without representation and would have been drastically unfair to my district.

If the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 are not willing to talk about the overall transportation needs of McHenry County, I cannot support their legislation. With less than one percent of McHenry County residents using mass transit on a daily basis and half of the county without any access to mass transit services, it’s hard to justify supporting this type of legislation unless it provides funds to improve Route 47, Route 176 and Route 31 including the Western Bypass around Algonquin.

Instead of addressing the transportation needs of McHenry County, IDOT removed the Western Bypass from its five-year plan. The need to improve the Western Bypass reached the federal radar and received $20 million in federal funds, while our state’s leaders fail to even recognize it as a priority. Once again Chicago pulled rank and improvements to the Dan Ryan moved forward to the tune of $1 billion.

I am committed to working with the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 to create a plan that addresses both mass transit and roads. With 80 percent of Illinois residents driving each day, it’s crucial that we keep our roads safe and maintain our infrastructure. Hundreds of roads throughout Illinois are in desperate need of repair to support the population growth that relies on them. My House Republican colleagues and I have been fighting for a capital bill that would benefit every corner of Illinois, repairing roads, rebuilding vital infrastructure and allocating money for school construction. When it comes to mass transit legislation, I say….No Capital? No CTA!

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Mike Tryon, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax

Some have suggested that I have merely re-fighting a battle I lost in 1974.

Whatever the reason, mass transit thoughts keep rising to the surface of my consciousness.

Today I offer three ideas, one political and two substantive.

The political thought is

Governor Rod Blagojevich has handed the General Assembly a strategy to raise sales taxes over his veto in which those casting the crucial final votes can escape political punishment at the polls.

The deadline for passage as far as the Chicago Transit Authority is concerned is now November 4th.

Know what day November 5th is?

It’s the filing deadline for state representative and state senator.

If the General Assembly can stall that long, marginal members may be convinced to vote for the bill knowing that the odds of an outraged potential challenger getting 500 (state rep.) or 1,000 (state senate) signatures within a day are slim.

And they can vote to override the Governor's veto after the end of filing.

The first substantive suggestion is

a logical way to finance whatever deficit the CTA has.

A property tax.

Before you beat me about the head with aluminum bats, consider that that the value of property in Chicago is largely dependent on its access to mass transit. Certainly, that is a major reason, if not the primary reason, that property value in and near the Loop is so high.

Likewise, real estate in poorly served parts of the city is less valuable.

So, those who receive the most value from mass transit would pay the most; those receiving the least value, the least.

I am certain the fact that more Metra trains stop at Crystal Lake than anywhere else in McHenry County makes local property values higher than they would be otherwise.

Now, my preference would be the unrefined approach of 19th Century economist Henry George, that is, a tax on only the land. (This approach has the result of encouraging maximum development of land, since the tax on a particular parcel would be the same whether an empty lot or a high rise. Think of all the problems that could be avoided with such a tax system in Chicago or anywhere else.)

One final thought.

Residential property taxes in Chicago are about the lowest in all of Illinois.

My information comes from the Illinois Department of Revenue’s Property Tax Statistics. It has information on “effective tax rates” that show Chicago about as low as one can go in Illinois.

An “effective tax rate” is defined as one’s tax bill divided by what one could sell one’s house for.

Figure out your own by getting the value of your home from Zillow.com. Divide the number there by your annual real estate tax bill.

Not a big surprise, but the Illinois Revenue Department stopped calculating effective tax rates about the time Democrat Rod Blagojevich took office. There is a couple of year lag time, so the most recent and, sorrowfully, the last comparisons of relative property tax burdens throughout Illinois is for the 2000 tax year.

I found Chicago’s effective tax rate for residential property on page 46 of that year’s Illinois Property Tax Statistics. (You’ll have to scroll down to Table 10. You can find what the effective tax rate is for your town, if it is large enough. This is a double-sided table, so it's a bit tricky.)

Chicago homeowners paid 1.1% of the value of their homes in real estate taxes for the 2000 tax year payable in 2001. That ranks 521st lowest out of 533 Illinois communities for which the effective tax rate was calculated.

So, don't tell me Chicago property taxes are too high unless you can produce an up-to-date effective tax rate for the city.

Most of Crystal Lake (the Algonquin Township part) the effective tax rate is 2.05%--ranking 203rd. The Village of Algonquin in McHenry County and Algonquin Township was 1.89%, ranking 286. McHenry was ranked 251 at 1.96% in McHenry Township.

The second substantive suggestion is

allowing legalized jitney cabs to take up the slack.

I think I had a bill drafted to allow jitneys passing a safety inspection and proper insurance for a group of conservative legislators whom I was helping in the late 1980's or early 1990's. The idea is still a good one.

Not just where the Chicago Transit Authority finds it uneconomical to run buses, but anywhere in Chicago.

I know that the “powers that be” would favor this no more than they would a property tax to finance the CTA, but it also makes all kinds of sense.

Look at the price of taxi medallions.

Clearly there is room in the market for more cab-like transportation.

Of course, bailing out the CTA is not about logic or even transpiration.

It is about patronage and forcing suburbanites to subsidize downtown office buildings.

And you can read more of some of that here.

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Effective Tax Rate, Henry George, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax