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That’s nice, but where the heck is the plan?
Wednesday, Sep 7, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller * Let’s revisit this topic for a moment…
While I wholeheartedly agree with the governor that some business climate things have got to change around here, investing in infrastructure is supremely important for a crossroads state like Illinois. Whether it’s by road, rail or air, you gotta come through Illinois to get most anywhere. Chicago let its railroad snarls get so horrific that companies set up workarounds to avoid the, in many instances, weeks-long city delays. Most of those new terminals are in Illinois, but Indiana is trying to get a huge one off the ground right now. Bruce Rauner campaigned on his support for massive capital investments, but nothing has yet materialized. He even signed off on raiding the Road Fund last year. * From a recent SJ-R story…
I fully agree that we need sustainable infrastructure funding year after year and we shouldn’t do things in spurts with occasional capital bills. And no offense to Brauer because he’s not in charge of this, but where is the administration’s plan? The governor has been in office 20 months and we have yet to hear a peep out of him. * By the way, infrastructure is not just about roads, bridges, airports and mass transit. Universities, K-12 schools and local water and sewer systems are also in dire need. And here’s Department of Natural Resource Director Wayne Rosenthal…
Sheesh.
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- Scamp640 - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:03 am:
According to Rauner, the Turnaround Agenda is the remedy to all of our ills. The prognosis is clear. The operation was a success but the patient died.
- anon - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:04 am:
I’m sure the governor would have a plan if it weren’t for Madigan.
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:06 am:
Full steam and straight ahead
(lots of snark!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek5DS2-Wgr0
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:08 am:
In the DH story, the CEO of Richileu also cited the Illinois “workforce.”
Perhaps slash-and-burn at community colleges and universities isn’t a good long-term economic strategy.
Infrastructure and higher ed are actual core state responsibilities that impact the economy. Springfield can do something about those.
How are we doing there these days on those fronts?
- phocion - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:09 am:
Why would voters support increase in user fees for transportation if the state is just going to raid the fund year after year? This is why the lockbox amendment needs to be enacted.
- Jon - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:18 am:
But balancing infrastructure and social services is hard, politicians don’t run for office to do the hard things. Blaming unions and Democrats or blaming the 1% and corporations is much, much easier.
When I was growing up my dad refused to hire an exterminator because they had no incentive to truly eliminate the problem, otherwise they would be out of business, or at least lose a customer. While his thoughts about exterminators were probably a bit misplaced, I fear it is true about politicians, even the “reformer” variety.
- the Cardinal - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:20 am:
The State needs to stop sweeping the funds (formerly dedicated to specific line items) for roads and DNR projects and maintain the roads bridges etc and state parks projects. It is a lie to the public when you collect fees like the gas tax or park fees and redirect to anywhere else. There-in-lies the total distrust that citizens have with Government.
- SAP - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:21 am:
Do I smell the creation of a new “private” foundation to fund State Park maintenance?
- Honeybear - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:32 am:
I don’t know if this is the case at IDOT but a lot of senior workers at other agencies got let go when the Rauner Administration came to power. Not having a new plan makes me think that they let go of the wrong people. I get that IDOT has a reputation for being a place where you stick political appointments but yet somehow the planning got done in years past. But maybe I don’t what’s going on. I’ll admit that. My point is that I’m wondering if they should bring some people back to get a plan done.
- Anon - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:35 am:
===major road, rail and bridge projects […] should not depend on the political uncertainty of capital budgets.===
That’s the wrong way of looking at this. Capital budgets aren’t supposed to be politically uncertain. Capital improvement plans aren’t supposed to be uncertain. Even creating special revenue funds doesn’t stop our state government from sweeping those funds or simply refusing to approve a budget.
This isn’t some kind of policy issue that needs to be reformed, it’s what’s at the heart and soul of the problem that plagues Illinois and has for decades.
The State Government does not and has not raised the revenue to pay for the services and infrastructure that the body politic expects, demands, or enjoys.
One is not supposed to create reforms because the electorate and the elected officials have spent four decades refusing to be fiscally responsible.
It’s ludicrous that there are elected officials on the ballot promising to balance the budget without raising taxes. Those buffoons should be mocked, ridiculed, and completely laughed out of office for either being incompetent or too cowardly to stand up before their constituents and say;
“We have to pay our bills.”
- Demise - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:35 am:
This ties in with the TA. Capital spending would help some unions. Implementation of local so-called right to work and elimination of prevailing wage is probably a prerequisite for such funding.
- Bemused - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:37 am:
Bust Unions first, Then Plan.
- JDuc - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:49 am:
Same old same old
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:51 am:
===Implementation of local so-called right to work and elimination of prevailing wage is probably a prerequisite for such funding.===
Yet another hostage.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:57 am:
Perhaps Rich and Wayne to could advise the boss on how to work with the GA to get things done?
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 11:59 am:
“Why would voters support increase in user fees for transportation if the state is just going to raid the fund year after year? This is why the lockbox amendment needs to be enacted.” And yet people complain that there’s a Pension clause.
To the Post:
Another case of campainin’ vs. governin’.
- Ol' Smokey - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 12:04 pm:
the Cardinal…what DNR projects were started or completed with swept funds? I don’t know if you have been to any parks lately…but there are no projects going on.
- Keyrock - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 12:07 pm:
Phocion- “dedicated user fees” is politician talk for “don’t run against me because I didn’t really raise taxes.” But in reality, revenue is revenue.
Illinois needs more revenue to provide the services its citizens want (including improved infrastructure), and to pay its bills.
The source of the revenue matters — but not because there is a G-D given right that motor fuel tax funds should only be used on roads.
- Henry Francis - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 12:11 pm:
The answer to all of public government failings? The private sector. See charter schools. See the private-public partnership for the Joliet road/bridge to help all of the Guv’s trucker friends. See the private DCEO. If you need more convincin’, then this Guv will just allow the public government functionality to continue to decline further until things have gotten so bad that privatization is the only rescue option.
- Just Me - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 12:12 pm:
A good place to start would be to stop diverting road infrastructure funds for non-road purposes.
- train111 - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 12:21 pm:
Rich
I think that I disagree with you on the rail part. The joint government/private investment into the Create projects has resolved many of the rail snarls in Chicago.
That being said, alot of the rail problems are of their own creation. The managemnt would rather cut costs to make the stock price go up today rather than make any invetment in the future. Those who have Metra and Amtrak running on their tracks have the advantage of being able to get some taxpayer money to help out. Look at the controversey surrounding the east end of the Elgin-O’Hare expressway. Now under new management it appears that Canadian Pacific wants to be a railroad instead of a real estate company running a railroad on the side. Unfortunately that wasn’t the first or last railroad management to approach their operation that way.
I agree that Illinois doesn’ton to do to be more business friendly, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that corporate management shares alot of blame in the whole mess.
Train111
- A Jack - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 12:25 pm:
We don’t need to increase registration fees if we aren’t using the road fund to fund roads. In fact, one could argue that the registration fee is too high as it is.
Small businesses often need vehicles to make deliveries. Trucking companies also have to register their fleet. Registration fees add to the cost of doing business. So registration fees, especially those that aren’t being used for their intended purpose are not business friendly.
- Sir Reel - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 12:30 pm:
This Governor has not only failed to come up with infrastructure funding or even a plan for infrastructure funding, he’s halted and delayed already funded capital projects, increasing their costs significantly.
Bad for the State’s economy, lost jobs, etc. All for his ideological mission to destroy organized labor.
- Huh? - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 1:40 pm:
“elimination of prevailing wage is probably a prerequisite for such funding.”
Sorry to say, that if there is any federal funding in an IDOT, project, the Federal Davis-Bacon Act applies. This is the federal prevailing wage law. Repealing the State prevailing wage law will have no effect.
- Huh? - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 1:49 pm:
Sweeping the road fund is short sighted. For every dollar that get swept, IDOT loses at least $4 of federal funding. Depending on the pot of money, the usual split is 80% Fed and 20% State. The split can be 90/10 for interstate projects. For these projects that are 100% State funded, those projects are postponed or canceled.
- Angry Chicagoan - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 3:00 pm:
The most important thing to him is busting unions, distantly followed by avoiding any tax increase for rich people. He thinks that will magically solve everything else. He utterly lacks curiosity about how government works, and in that respect he’s all too typical of today’s right and alt-right.
With specific regard to rail, it’s worth considering that the private railroads already are investing in capital at a far higher rate than most other private businesses. The trouble is, it isn’t enough for the demands being put on the system, especially if the cheap mobility on which people have come to count is to continue to be cheap at the point of use or need. It’s worth considering that part of why we’re where we are is that government disinvested from rail, through extending wartime ticket taxes for almost 20 years after the second world war, through mass subsidization of the interstates, though trucking deregulation that went far beyond its rail counterpart, through continuing to charge property tax on railroad infrastructure, and so on. Imagine if the tollway authority or IDOT had to pay property tax on their highways.
- Anon - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 3:08 pm:
So Rauner’s guy has an idea for more revenue: another regressive fee hike, for maximum impact on the working class. Madigan may be eager to oblige.
At least a hike in the gas tax would be related to how much folks actually use the roads.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 7:57 pm:
Gov. Rauner spent and continues to spend a lot of his fortune in pursuit of a personal wish-list of eliminating a number of bones stuck is his very own personal craw.
He could have done anything in retirement, but he chose this.
He has not, and doesn’t even really try, to explain beyond the most shallow of sound bites how that agenda would benefit the state as a whole.
Or why core responsibilities impacting real people — and mandated by statute, contracts and the Constitution, should be damaged — while he stamps his feet and holds his breath until he gets those things that he wants that he can’t really explain why they’re a good thing.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Sep 7, 16 @ 8:08 pm:
== through continuing to charge property tax on railroad infrastructure ==
- Angry Chicagoan - , I can’t speak to the Chicago area but … at one time I used to prowl the unpaid property tax lists in a couple of counties south of Springfield in search of property I might be able to afford speculating on with a chance of eventually acquiring ownership (I wasn’t in it for the interest payments, I actually wanted the land / buildings.) I haven’t done that for years but back then the railroads were always on the unpaid list; looked to me like they just ignored the bills because the unpaid taxes stretched back many, many years.