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First, read this:
A tollway reform lawmaker wants to turn the suburban system over to a private company, a deal that would likely lead to less public control and higher tolls but also a windfall of billions of dollars.
At least one watchdog group jumped on the idea Tuesday, calling it a disservice to commuters. But several transportation gurus and suburban lawmakers endorsed the concept. […]
The amount of cash the state could nab from leasing the tollway will clearly reach into the billions, a prospect that dazzles lawmakers searching for money to fund needed transportation upgrades and state employee pensions.
Chicago raked in $1.8 billion upfront for the Skyway bridge over its east side. But drivers will gradually pay more before reaching $5 in 2017 — double the current $2.50.
In Indiana, lawmakers are working on a deal to lease a 157-mile stretch of I-90 along Lake Michigan for $3.8 billion.
You might also want to browse through this series about the Indiana tollway.
Now, what do you think of the idea?
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 3:03 am
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From this article, it is clear to me who owns the tollway right now: the lawmakers.
They will be the ones who benefit from its sale, because now they will have billions more to dole out to their constituents.
The taxpayers benefitting is a nice side effect.
Comment by Yo Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 5:16 am
In general, I support privatizing everything that the state doesn’t absolutely have to do, but Yo is right that giving that much money to lawmakers is as responsible as giving a recovering alcoholic a bottle of vodka. If this sale goes through (which it should as long as we can ensure truly competitive bidding), it should be specified BEFOREHAND what the money will be spent on (eg funding pensions, schools, etc.)
Comment by Larry Horse Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 5:59 am
I love these stories…it makes the law makers in Springfield sound like a bunch of heroin addicts racing through the house trying to find anything of value they can sell in order to get their next fix:
“The TV! I can pawn that for $50!….The lawnmower! $25! Uh oh here come the shakes..”
Of course, this activity will be rationalized by “helping the citizens of Illinois and improving our infrastructure”…but quite frankly, up here in Northern Illinois it has been one giant construction zone for the last ten years or so. Every road has been torn up (or is torn up), buildings going up, parks being created everywhere, exposition halls being thrown up, mass transit lines being added and completely overhauled…This “crumbling infrastructure” argument is getting old. (For those of us paying attention, that is)
Comment by Slash Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 6:22 am
And, if it turns out to be a “bad idea”, can the lawmakers simply steal it back through the use of the “law of iminent domain” from the companies that purchased it?
Sell it to them for billions of dollars to help pay off the bills run up down in Springfield due to the “Drunken Sailor” syndrome. Wait 2-3 years, and then we can condemn their purchase as being “necessary for the public good” and we get it back by stealing it through the law of eminent domain. This time we only have to pay them millions of dollars rather than the billions of dollars that they paid us for it!
Once again, now the legislators in Springfield will be able to revert back to their “Drunken Sailor” routine. We can use this one over and over again. I like it.
Comment by Beowulf Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 7:38 am
Only if the sale is accompanied by a reduction or elimination of the state income tax and a reduction in property taxes. After all, it’s ILL citizens who will mostly be paying the tolls and we need to see clear benefits for the
increase in toll fees.
And I agree, given the extraordinary bipartisan corruption of our governors and lawmakers, it will be extremely important to specify what the money will go for. It most definitely should not go for an expansion of the state bureaucracy or for increases in salaries and lush benefits for government employees. By funding their pensions, they will be receiving more than a fair share of the booty. Income and property tax reduction or eleiminations should be our share.
Comment by Cassandra Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 7:55 am
After years of trying to bring more state control over the Tollway, Sen. Jeff Schoenburg now wants to sell it to the highest bidder. Based upon this pro-business attitude, the Senator must also be considering running as a Republican in the next election.
Motorists can be sure of one thing if this plan goes through— HIGHER TOLLS. Ask the Chicago Skyway users….. Any private comapny will not buy the Tollway without the promises of more revenue.
And you I-PASS users can be sure that a private company (with a profit motive) will certainly be more considerate and understanding if you have a problem with your account.
This plan is just bad for drivers………tolls will never end.
Comment by Keno-man Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 8:12 am
The only reedeming fact here is that once a private company takes over, you can bet your iPass that the $20/hrs + benefits + pension that the toll collectors currently make is going to get slashed down to…oh…minimum wage + no benefits + no pension, I’d guess.
Which is how much someone whose primary job skill is to give someone two dimes when they hand them a dollar SHOULD be compensated.
(Ok, sock it to me…toll takers work long hours, have to suck fumes, work very hard, have to know how to give directions, go home after work and grade papers long into the night….blah blah blah)
Comment by Heh Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 9:02 am
Sen. Schoenburg’s statement makes me wonder if taking the post of Evanston Township Democratic Committeeman causes the person holding that title (currently in Schoenburg’s hands) to act or think in an unusual or strange manner.
But you don’t have to settle for my opinion on this matter. You can observe the bizarre (if not hypocritical) actions of the Democratic Party of Evanston for yourselves this coming Sunday when they hold their “endorsement” session for the 2006 Democratic Primary. This event, which can be quite entertaining for political junkies, will be held at the Beth Emet Synagogue, 1224 Dempster St (southwest corner of Dempster & Ridge) in central Evanston, beginning at 1 pm.
If you come, you might see for yourselves if DPOE will make endorsements at a session where are virtually no students or minorities present, and very few senior citizens (as was the case in 2004). At first that might not seem significant to you, until you realize that this was the makeup of the 2004 DPOE enorsement session, in a community where students, minorities and senior citizens make up about 40 or even 50% of the Democratic Primary vote. Some may argue that imposing endorsements on the aforementioned absent groups hardly seems to be in the progressive mold. But you can be the final judge on this matter.
If you come, you can also ask Bob Creamer (the husband of cong. Jan Schakowsky) when his sentencing hearing, which was not held on December 21 as previously scheduled, will finally take place. (I’m sure Creamer and Schakowsky will be there, since the meeting will be held judt two blocks from their home.)
Comment by Randall Sherman Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 9:32 am
Would we be discussing this if we weren’t broke? Instead of discussing the pro’s and con’s of privatizing Illinois tollways, we should instead be asking why this needs to even be considered.
In theory, privatization is a good thing. We used to have private prisons, private roads, and other services. The reason we took them over was because we had to. Businesses fail. They are often poorly operated. They go through business cycles. Running a public transportation system via a private company entices companies to grab and milk assets and forces them into high risk efficiencies that often fail. Have we learned anything people? We did! We discovered that essential services such as transportation should be handled by a not-for-profit and unbankruptable organization called a government.
Shudder to even think of how this leasing would be handled by the arrogant and corrupted bunch of morons we have in office. These people cannot even balance a budget, create a decent business climate, generate jobs, operate schools, manage health care or even get to a funeral on time. They should be trusted with our assets?
Running this great state into the ground is no excuse to start selling off our assets. Instead, it is a definate reason to vote out the maggots infecting our state.
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 9:47 am
Oh, heh, you’re so right. Who cares about little people? As long as the rich get richer, what’s the diff?
I for one am tired of public assets being sold off with so little input from the public and so little consideration for the long-term impacts.
Let the flaming where I am called a raging socialist begin.
Comment by insider Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 10:40 am
Privatization is good in theory and practice. What has failed in practice was not privatization but the cronyism that too often goes along with government privatization.
Comment by Larry Horse Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 11:04 am
I would argue that the person that takes the no benefit job still has the ability to further themselves and find a better career. Handing out dimes and nickles is not a job that should allow people to be paid with rich compensation packages. Privatize it. However, don’t allow these sailers to do a switcherooo like they did with the lottery money for education. If it goes to pensions allow it to go to pensions with the money that already should go to pensions. Novel idea, pay forward on your debt!!!
Comment by Bill Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 11:13 am
Once again the public shows that they have no clue as to what they are talking about. Let me reiterate do a FOIA(Freedom of Information Act)your tax dollars do not go to the Tollway. Yes Topinka and Hynes caught Blago dipping into the Tollway check book “What a shock!” he has been dipping into everything else that he is not supposed be and I do not hear anyone complaining about that! Speaking as a former Toll Collector they do not get paid enough. What you do not hear in the newspapers is what they have to put with; people trying to hit you with their vehicles; throwing money at you;parking in your lanes so they can either verbally harass you or play with themselves or others;heating their money up with the cigarette lighter;or throwing bags of feces at you;I could go on forever. Yes Toll Collectors see the public at their best! No worries with the new wave, “I-Pass”, Toll Collectors are obsolete and will eventually go away. That leaves me with the question who will the public torture when they are taking the Tollway and they will take the Tollway because despite the bad press and the constant complaining about having to pay tolls, the roads are well maintained especially during snow storms. So when the public needs to get somewhere without hitting huge pot holes, bad pavement, or snow ridden roads they take the Tollway, because we take that toll money and put it back into the roads unlike your tax dollars that do nothing for IDOT roads that is what people should be complaining about. I think IDOT(which is one letter short of Idiot)should be privatized this way the roads would be better taken care of, snow season would be a joy and that four (4) hour call time for snow birds(that I might you are paying for when nothing is happening) would be warranted.
Leave the Tollway system as it has been alone. What you should be questioning is how this City of Chicago Administration is handling the Tollway monies. Again you would have to arm yourself with ammunition and the only way you can do that is with a FOIA!
Comment by angry and outraged Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 11:44 am
Call it what it is. Another effort take what should be tomorrow’s revenues and turn it into something that can be spent today. Steal from the future to fund today’s indulgences. It has almost become the definition of Illinois budgetmaking these days.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 11:51 am
The tollways were built with bonds that are supposed to be paid off by the tolls and then go to freeways! That was the promise it was extended in 1981 by Big Jim to ” Help Pay For” the newer tollroads.
These toll are a way to pay to build the projects they were not ment to be never ending sorces of revenue for the General Assembly. Bad Idea
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 12:51 pm
The Illinois tollway is composed of two parts — a profitable set of suburban routes and an unprofitable set of extensions extending west to the Quad Cities. If the former are sold, then the tolls on the remainder must go up to provide for maintenance across the prairie. Alternatively, the unprofitable toll roads could be turned into freeways. Maintenance of these would have to come from additional State gas taxes.
Another problem is the role of the tollway in promoting economic development in northern Illinois. Transportation is a valuable public good in enhancing site location. For a company moving many trucks to and from warehouse destinations, higher tolls will likely result in business decisions regarding location.
In Indiana they are wrestling with serious issues. The sale is not a simple stand alone sale of assets. One problem is the ‘hold harmless’ provision. Should the State improve the free roads and it affects the volume of traffic on the now privately owned Tollway, the State will have to make good the loss of revenue. This should be unacceptable. Higher tolls will put more truck traffic on the parallel roads.
The Skyway was an idea whose time had come. A short Point A to Point B route with a parallel freeway (Calumet Expressway/Bishop Ford/Dan Ryan) it served a clientele and continues to do so. However, had it not been for Indiana gambling boats the economic value of the Skyway would have been suspect. Maintenance on the approaches had long been accomplished by the City of Chicago.
Comment by Truthful James Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 1:44 pm
Holy guacamole! I love it! Pass the salsa papa’s going to get some chorizo!
Comment by Mike's Used Sport's Section Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 1:52 pm
Another excellent reason to not live around Chicago. Even though tax money built the roads and maintained them, let’s hit them for some more money. “I will not raise taxes, I’ll just increase every fee I possibly can so you will still pay more. It just will not be called a tax.”
Comment by zatoichi Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 3:09 pm
The only reason Blago has not jumped on this is none of his friends or money men stand to make anything.Just let a couple of them get involved and he be on this like a fly on stink.Maybe he is stalling until they can get a corporation together.Come to think about it doesn’t some of his big money people have no bid contracts with the tollways?That would probably end if it went private.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 3:28 pm
Aren’t we missing another more interesting angle? Rod had just gone through the moves of proposing keno, proposing big spending, baiting the Repubs into being critics, then pulling keno and saying “OK, GOP, you either come up with new funding ideas (new taxes anyone? anyone?) or say we won’t help schools, etc.” Then the GOP is stuck for um maybe a day — then a Dem jumps up and says “hey lets sell the tollway system!” Once again in Springfield you have to ask whose side is this person on?! Or are they paying attention at all?
Comment by Anon Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 4:50 pm
The Democrats have spent Illinois into the poorhouse in just 4-years.
Their idea of ‘privatization’is to sell our infastructure for a fast buck to bail them out. What’s next? Sell the Capitol to Subway or KFC?
It’s nutty.
The fact is, despite decades of payroll padding, the Tollway Authority has delivered good, sound super-highways that are well maintained.
With I-PASS and open-road tolling soon to be the rule tolls should be set to cover just the cost of maintenance and upgrading — not expansion.
Let any extensions or new tollroads pay for themselves through higer tolls.
Tollways help Illinois recover revenue from all the vehicles and trucks outside of Illinois who would otherwise use our roads for free.
Those Illinoisans who don’t like tolls and don’t want to pay them — don’t have to!
Comment by The Colonel Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 5:00 pm
Why can’t I get this image out of my mind? It’s the silent movie where Chaplin has stolen a multi-car train with no coal, and to keep the boiler going, he feeds every stick of wood in the train to it, so by the time the train gets to the end of the line, all that remains is the engine itself and some steel wheels.
This is what I think of when I hear this Tollway proposal as well as many of the other economic loaves and fishes ideas from Blago’s bunch. I don’t want the state railroaded into poverty.
Comment by Dennis Weaver in Duel Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 6:14 pm
I have to agree with 12:51. I have a lot of respect for my former House colleague, but this is a big deviation from the concept that he once so passionately fought for, namely that the tollways had become a self-feeding beast defying their original intent, which was that they would eventually become free roads, and that this must be corrected. This concept relegates the original intent of the tollroads and the promise to the taxpayers into the dustbin.
Comment by Hon. John Fritchey Thursday, Jan 26, 06 @ 10:49 pm
Hon. John,
Yes but…
When the tollways were originally constructed, no one figured on the exponential increase in traffic, especially truck traffic, over the last 40+ years. Lanes need to be added, and existing lanes reconstructed to higher standards, just to keep the system functional. And I’m not opposed to an extension project once every 15-20 years or so. Last one was 1989 (I-355), next one will be I-355 south extension (2007?).
Who pays? If tolls are kept, the user pays. If they are removed, we all pay, and that don’t play well in Cairo or Carbondale. I like it just the way it is, and although I’m not a real fan, the recent reformation, construction program and “revenue enhancement” is a real positive of Jack Hartman and GRod’s admin.
Comment by 6 Degrees of Separation Friday, Jan 27, 06 @ 12:35 am
HonJohn –
Of course, politicians may not be completely truthful when they propose something. The Illinois Toll Roads perform a valuable service, and at the same time every gallon of gas or diesel used on the toll roads provides tax revenue to support other roads and highways. I doubt that many other government departments can say that. There will always be constituents who want free lunch and politicians willing to feed them. But the cost of the “food” has to come from somewhere.
Your governor has already driven trucking businesses out of state. The increase in the gas tax (and yes, John, whether regional, to assuage the southern Illinois people, or statewide is not an economic development tool.
But the state of maintenance and, in the winter, snowplowing is the first wonder of the Illinois world. Users paying for their services is the most efficient form of government.
Now, if you really had the political will to do so, you might try to amend the toll road law to permit some of the surplus (after operations, depreiation, improvements and extensions and reserves) to be distributed to the State highway department, that would be wonderful.
Comment by Truthful James Friday, Jan 27, 06 @ 7:34 am
have the bids been read for the open road tolling plaza at Dekalb I-88?
Comment by want2work Thursday, Feb 16, 06 @ 11:33 am