McHenry County Blog

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

Click on the ad the Chicago Transit Authority spend oodles on in Chicago’s newspapers and you will see what CTA riders will have to pay to get to and from work.

How does it compare with what you have to pay?

It looks like $6 a day on a rapid transit train and $5 per day, if you take a bus.

Get a monthly pass, however, and the cost is $84. With twenty working days a month, that seems to be about $4 a day, assuming one doesn’t use bus or train service any time else during the month.

What do you pay to get to work each month?

When you fill up your motor vehicle with gas, how much does it cost?

Do you have to fill it up at least twice a month?

Do you have car payments?

Even if you don’t, there is obviously depreciation on your car as you use it.

Just wondering.

Is keeping CTA, Metra and Pace fares down worth it to have your RTA sales taxes tripled from one-quarter of one percent to three-quarters of a percent,
even if half of the increase is going to be given to the McHenry County Board to spend improving the roads of its choice?

Just wondering.

It's going to cost the average McHenry County family about $200 a year if the CTA bailout bill is passed.

And for those reading from outside the Chicago metropolitan area in Illinois, part of your share of the sales tax will be ripped off. In that Governor Rod Blagojevich's spokeswoman is correct.

The Metra engine is pulling into Crystal Lake's train station from Chicago. The Pace buses are on Bull Valley Road at the McHenry spur's grade crossing.

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Metra, PACE, RTA

At least $18 million will be picked out the pockets of McHenry County shoppers every 12 months if the General Assembly passes the half percentage point RTA-Road Sales Tax Hike.

To put that in perspective, $207 million was collected in sales taxes throughout the county this past year. So, the proposed sales tax increase would hike sales taxes 8.7%.

(Yesterday, I estimated the increase would be at least 7.6% and pointed out how a local newspaper was helping the RTA to raise taxes with its headline. That calculation was based on using the tax rates. This one
uses actual dollars.)

If only the 89,403 households paid the tax, it would amount to $231 a family. But, since businesses pay some sales tax, the figure per household will actually be less.

Maybe you won’t care.

That’s certainly what the legislators behind this tax hike are hoping.

If the legislation becomes law, the Regional Transportation Authority will get another $9 million. About $100 per McHenry County family.

Almost half of the RTA’s McHenry County $9 million will go to the Chicago Transit Authority, according to Kevin Craver’s Northwest Herald article.

And the county board will get the same amount--$9 million--to spend, apparently as it wishes, on roads it wants to improve. That’s almost twice as much as $4.6 million collected in McHenry County Motor Fuel Taxes this past year.

The county board just decided to borrow $50 million to improve roads. If the $9 million per year were similarly bonded, an extra, what, almost $100 million could be spent on roads.

County board members might not even have to take the heat for raising the taxes…unless the legislators decide to require them to approve the tax hike. (Rockford recently passed a sales tax hike to pay for roads.)

Labels: CTA, Metra, PACE, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax

Everyone who purchases anything in McHenry County sees one-quarter of one percent of the cost go to finance the Regional Transportation Authority.

But in the Crystal Lake area, only residents of Crystal Lake can climb on board, even if the bus goes right past the front of their house.

No, let me personalize this post.

The PACE bus uses Lake Avenue, the street with 6,500 vehicles per day the last time I checked a traffic count.

But, no one on Lake Avenue in Lakewood can take the bus.

That’s because Lakewood does not pay money in addition to its shoppers’ sales taxes in order to provide this door-to-door bus service to its residents.

Because I’m an old guy, Algonquin Township will send a bus this western edge of Algonquin Township, if I called, but that makes little sense.

Similarly, Grafton Township has a township-wide bus service which would serve the other side of Meridian Street, if anyone cared to call it.

Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley was named a member of the PACE board about the time he decided to support an opponent of mine in a Republican primary election.

When he came to speak to Crystal Lake Kiwanis, I asked him for subsidy figures for each PACE bus service in McHenry County. He said he would provide it, but it has not yet come.

I also asked why the City of Crystal Lake did not sign an intergovernmental agreement with Algonquin Township under which Algonquin Township would just pay Crystal Lake for the very few Lakewood calls for door-to-door bus service, which might occur.

He said that would be worth considering, but I haven’t seen any follow-up.

= = = = =
The picture of Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley was taken when he spoke to Crystal Lake Kiwanis.

At least this PACE bus slowed down in front of our house as a Lakewood Policeman in this police car was issuing a ticket. It is the closest a PACE bus has come to stopping in Lakewood in years.

Labels: Aaron Shepley, Algonquin Township, Lakewood, PACE