McHenry County Blog

When the Regional Transportation Authority took control of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, the first change I noticed was the free drinking water and cups disappeared. A steel plate covered up the hole.

Then, the last bar car was retired.

Hey, why should there be any pleasure in commuting.

Having commuted from Woodstock for six months, I can tell you it is a l-o-n-g and b-o-r-i-n-g trip.

It's impossible to get to sleep because the backs of the seats don't go back far enough.

Ironically, one could sleep on the train when my father first took it to Chicago in 1958. The cars were probably put in service in the 1930's and the seats were dust covered. But they reclined.

And, anyone in a wheel chair could roll right into them.

They were replaced by double-deckers, inaccessible

Having taken out the free water and paper cups thirty-some years ago and, now, the bar car, RTA's Metra is taking out 23% of its bathrooms.

If you can't get anything to drink, I guess one can predict that one won't have to go to the bathroom as much.

I guess no one should be surprised because Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly increased our RTA sales taxes 75% from one-quarter of a percent to three-quarters of a percent.

Increase taxes.

Decrease service.

Sounds like government.

Labels: Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, Metra, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA

It was less than 18 hours after I posted my complaint that it had taken the Regional Transportation Authority employees more than a month to send my old coot free ride card that it arrived in the mail.

I don't know how they managed to do that.

Working on the weekend?

Not likely, I'd guess.

Government employees and all that.

Still, it got here well before I'll ever use it, so I certainly am a satisfied customer.

Even it it cost me $2 for the photo to be taken.

Labels: Free Ride, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, Senior Citizen Discount

Over a month ago I went to the Crystal Lake City Hall to file a Freedom of Information request.

I decided to apply for my free train (not likely, I'll ever take a Pace bus) ride card at the same time.

First, I found out that the free ride had a cost.

$2 for the photo.

I just cleaned out the front seat of my car and found the March 3rd application.

It reminded me that I have not received my card yet.

Maybe the new member of the RTA Board appointed by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, Al Jourdan, will inquire as to why it has taken so long.

Not that I'm likely to use the card in the near future.

The last time I took the train my sister and niece and grandniece and nephew went to Des Plaines to eat in the Choo-Choo Restaurant.

It was right down the street from where my father's Barley and Malt Institute used to be located on the second floor of the corner building which used to be the Masonic Temple (northwest of the movie theater).

Labels: Al Jourdan, Ken Koehler, RTA, RTA Sales Tax, Train Whistles

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler has appointed former McHenry County Republican Central Committee Chairman Al Jourdan to the Regional Transportation Authority Board.

Jourdan was GOP county chairman in 1974 when partisan political leaders fought the formation of the RTA.

About 93% of the county electorate voted against the proposal.

Only one precinct carrying the referendum, according to official election records.

It was the precinct in downtown Cary.

I am sure that some future historian will look at the election results and conclude that the precinct was full of Chicago and Northwestern commuters.

Not so.

I called the precinct judges to find out what had happened and one reaction in complete surprise.

The opponents had carried the day, but the “Yes” and “No” votes had been transposed on the tally sheets.

I could not reach Koehler to discover how long Jourdan's term will run.

Former State Senator Jack Schaffer serves on the Metra Board, having replaced former Metra Board Chairman Jeff Ladd. Crystal Lake Mayor serves on the PACE bus board.

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The Metra train is seen pulling into the Des Plaines station. The big PACE bus is approaching Crystal Lake's Hillside Road from the north on Walkup Road or the McHenry Blacktop as we Crystal Lakers call it.

Labels: Al Jourdan, Ken Koehler, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA

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

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

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

Looks like I messed up big time with this article. Oh, the analysis is OK. It's the premise that is wrong.

My eyes read the roll call wrong. State Senator Debbie Halvorson did not vote on the RTA sales tax hike bill. that probably was a smart move.

Sorry, Senator Halvorson and thanks to "Illinois De" for pointing it out.

= = = = =
That’s what I thought when I saw that State Senator Debbie Halvorson had provided the deciding vote to raise sales taxes in her home county of Will.

When the Regional Transportation Authority passed the legislature in 1973, House Speaker Bob Blair was its leading advocate.

He was positioning himself to run for governor and thought saving mass transportation was the way to ingratiate himself with Chicago’s power brokers, including the media.

In the March.1974 referendum, Will County went heavily against RTA. Not as opposed as the 93% “No” vote in McHenry County, but so substantially that Senator Cecil Partee commented about the one-sided collar county votes at a meeting of the Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission the day after the vote.

“You have your river wards, Cecil,” I observed. “We have our river counties.”

Indeed, Blair’s support of the RTA referendum was an anomaly among suburban legislators. His running mate Bill Kempiners and the Democratic Party colleague in the three-member district, George Sangmeister voted against the bill.

And, they were re-elected that fall.

Blair was not.

He lost to LeRoy VanDuyne. Halvorson had followed in Blair’s footsteps, I wondered if that would hurt her chances to replace Jerry Weller in congress.

My guess is that a skillful opponent can craft effective hit pieces on how much she has cost the average family in Will County.

Labels: Bill Kempiners, Bob Blair, Cecil Partee, Debbie Halverson, George Sangmeister, LeRoy VanDuyne, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, Will County

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.

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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

And, it wasn't one-term Democratic Party Congressman John Cox of Galena.

John B. Anderson, who used to represent the northern and western part of McHenry County, has endorsed Barack Obama for President.

The last time I saw the congressman in 1980. He was coming out of Waukegan’s WKRS radio station as I was going in for an interview. I was running against his colleague Congressman Robert C. McClory.

He was running for president as an independent.

I’m sure he wondered why this state representative was running against his friend, Bob McClory.

Of course, Anderson had about as much chance of winning the presidency as I had getting elected to congress against an entrenched incumbent (although I did carry McHenry County).

In 1978, Anderson was challenged unsuccessfully by conservative Don Lyon, a minister with a large church from Rockford. Lyon is still active in the political arena.

I doubt that was the year, but Anderson came out in favor of a 50 cent per gallon tax on gasoline. When he did, I figured he wasn’t going to run for congress again. After all, people drive places in a district that runs from McHenry County and points west.

And I figured the federal government would just spend whatever money was collected.

Anderson won that congressional primary election by concentrating on turning out the vote in eight Republican wards in Rockford. The vote was 43,055 for Anderson and 31,266 for Lyon.

In McHenry County, however, the vote was 1,902 for Lyon and 1,802. He sent out an anti-RTA bumper sticker to all Republican households. The RTA referendum was in 1974 and resentment was still running high.

That's basically the area that Democratic Party State Representative Jack Franks represents now.

Labels: 16th Congressional District, Don Lyon, John B. Anderson, Robert McClory, RTA, WKRS

Fast forward (I know for a story in its fifth daily installment, that must sound funny) to 1982. I had always wondered how high an office one could run for without selling one’s soul.

Jim Thompson couldn’t find anyone to run for State Comptroller against Roland Burris. He asked me to run.

I figure, why not?

Test the hypothesis that state senate is the highest office that one can run for without selling one's soul.

My wife, who was Robin Meridith Geist before we got married, had been Thompson's photographer when I met her during his first campaign.

I had lost a Republican primary election for Congress in 1980 to incumbent Robert McClory, but still had high name identification statewide (a survey said it was 56% in 1980) from the 1974 fight against the Regional Transportation Authority.

I had announced for state representative in a district that went from our home in Woodstock to Rockford. It had no incumbent and I had represented most of the area for 8 years.

It looked like it had been drawn for me, although Mike Madigan had tried his best of put me in with Dick Klemm; he just didn't know we had moved from Lily Pond Road to 360 S. Madison Street in Woodstock when he did the reapportionment.

Then, Governor Thompson called. I told him I didn’t have any money. He told me he would get supporters to ante up $50,000 and a car dealer would donate a car. (The Route 41 car dealer was a member of the Tollway board.)

I agreed without asking my wife, something that turned out to be a big mistake.

The contest (I couldn’t call it a “race”) was over as soon as WCIA-TV in Bloomington came out with its first poll. I had this whole campaign laid out to identify “Waste Watchers” throughout Illinois, but, from then on the media was not interested in ideas; just the horse race part of the campaign, where I was too far behind to catch up.

Finally, to the story I’ve been leading up to for 1,600 words.

Burris and I were in Champaign or Urbana, I think, at a debate sponsored by the Illinois Press Association.

One of the three panelists was the son of the family after whom Behan Road east of Crystal Lake on Route 176 was named. I met newspaper publisher Paul Behan in 1974 at a candidates' night in Belvidere when he ran for state representative in the district west of mine. We talked about the road that now goes to the McHenry County Conservation District’s nature center. That was a good sign, I figured.

In any event, Burris went on the attack and said that I had been “convicted of practicing law without a license.”

My reply must have been considered pretty devastating. I pointed out that then State Comptroller Burris was a lawyer (actually, a future Illinois Attorney General) and should be expected to know the difference between a civil and criminal case.

Later, newspaper publisher and future State Representative Craig Finley told me I won the debate.

The McHenry County Bar Association had sued me in civil court. I had not been indicted by the McHenry County State’s Attorney.

But, apparently Burris did not know the difference.

Naturally, I lose that 1982 election, but Burris’ not knowing the difference between a civil suit and a criminal case came back to me when Huntley School Board President Shawn Green told Daily Herald reporter Jameel Naqvi last Thursday:

“Green said the district may be able to recover some of the $100,000 -- depending on the outcome of the state's attorney's investigation.

"’I don't want it to ruin our chances for getting back any money we may be owed,’ Green said.”

Apparently, Green was not paying attention when O.J. Simpson won his criminal case, but lost the civil case filed by the victim’s family.

It’s not like the early 1950’s song, “Love and Marriage.”

The Huntley School District can have one without the other.

The burden of evidence is less in a civil suit than in a criminal case.

Who knows?

If Huntley School District 158 Board went after those past and current employees who received fringe benefits that they did not obtain with a public vote of the board, it might pay for the forensic audit.

It might also convince district employees that the board will not stand for similar practices in the future.

But that might require current board members to admit they did something wrong, so don’t make out the deposit slips for the reimbursements yet.

Labels: Cal Skinner, Huntley School District 158, Jim Thompson, Paul Behan, Robert McClory, Robin Geist, Roland Burris, RTA, Shawn Green, State Comptroller, WCIA-TV

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.

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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.

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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

That was the question that came to mind when I read Friday’s Elgin Courier News.

The headline of Steve Lord’s story was

Empty
seats
at
Metra
hearing

To discuss fare hikes:
Meeting fails to draw
interest of commuters

Is it possible that suburbanites know what a great deal they are getting on their train commutes?

Might they be able to figure out that the price of diesel oil has increased a lot and fare increases are justified?

The suggestion is 5-10% in 2008 and 10% a year the next two years.

Let’s see, how much has the cost of gasoline increased in the last year?

Think the people who didn’t show up have any friends who have to get to and from work by car and have heard them complain about how much the cost of their commutes have gone up in the last year?

What to bet they don’t know that Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross wants to take the sales tax that vehicle commuters pay when they purchase motor fuel and use it to subsidize those privileged to be able to take the train to and from work.

Someone will point out this is just a secret RTA gas tax that even takes money out of the pockets of Downstaters. That’s because it comes right off the top of the state’s General Fund.

Downstaters who vote for such a plan can expect someone like me to point out how much their constituents are paying to subsidize the Chicago Transit Authority.

Only that someone could be running against them.

Labels: Metra, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Gas Tax, Tom Cross

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

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