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Tax hikes, mass transit and “fat”

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Illinois

* The proposed two-point hike in Cook County’s sales tax appears to be dead for now…

Commissioner Larry Suffredin originally said he’d keep out of the sales tax battle—but now says he’s resolved concerns about a possible conflict of interest.

SUFFREDIN: I’ve come to the conclusion that I will vote under the ethics act, and my intention is to vote no.

Suffredin says Commissioner Earlean Collins is also a no—and Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, thought to be a swing vote on taxes, says he’ll vote no too. Which, means, if put up to the 17 member county board the sales tax hike would be defeated.

* If true, that could help the backers of a proposed quarter-point increase in the sales tax to bail out mass transit. The more likely it is that Cook raises the sales tax, the less likely that legislators will want to do the same thing. Voters are angry enough already without provoking them even more.

* The Tribune’s editorial board had some harsh words for transit critics the other day…

Transit is not failing in Illinois. It’s busier and more popular than at any time since the car euphoria of the ’50s and ’60s. What’s failing is transit’s funding mechanism: Its sponsors—the governor and the General Assembly—have failed to shed their antiquated views of what transit does and for whom it exists. It’s not a business, it’s not a welfare function that prosperity will erase, and it’s not just for Chicago. Transit is a fundamental mobility resource essential to the entire state.

Maybe it’s time for our elected officials to do something they’ve never done before: ride their transit systems. When they see how transit and its ridership are changing, so will their views and their votes.

* Speaking of mass transit, the RTA is about to unveil a new doomsday scenario…

The Chicago Transit Authority this week will unveil a new and more severe round of service cuts and fare hikes to take place Jan. 1 unless the stalemate over state transit funding is broken.

* More…

The first phase of the transit meltdown is set for November 4 if Governor Blagojevich and the general assembly can’t agree on a bailout plan. The transit meltdown scheduled for mid-September was postponed for seven weeks. The governor loaned CTA, Metra and Pace nearly a hundred million state subsidy dollars to relieve a cash flow crisis.

Doomsday would then be doubled in January because the CTA’s deficit increases by $50 million in 2008. Details will be spelled out at a board meeting Wednesday.

* Tribune blogger Scott Kleinberg thinks the doomsday is hype and doesn’t believe it, but he says he refuses to pay any more for his daily CTA ride, and adds…

(T)he CTA could start by being a little more smart with how they spend. That’s first and foremost. And then the state should realize how ridiculously important mass transit is to Chicago.

Pretty much everybody understands transit’s importance at the Statehouse. Getting them to agree on a solution is the problem.

* Back to Cook County for a moment. The Trib looked at how county government got itself into this fiscal mess in a pretty even-handed story, considering all the hooplah about this issue. But Todd Stroger probably didn’t do his credibility any favors with this quote…

“Do I think there could be fat somewhere? I think in a government this large there’s probably always going to be some fat. Do I think we have $307 million worth of fat? No. There could be up to a million dollars worth of fat, maybe.“

[Emphasis added]

Can you say: “Deep denial”?

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 9:28 am

Comments

How ’bout those Cubbies?

Comment by St.Louis Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 9:46 am
Why hasn’t Stroger and Co. picked up on the concept of a “Doomsday” and started marketing that to us? The CTA has perfected this: ‘Doomsday to occur on July 1!’, ‘Doomsday to occur on Jan 1! if the state doesn’t come through with money!’

Stroger could use the same marketing tool for Stroger Hospital. Why doesn’t he? He doesn’t even have to do any heavy lifting - the CTA has put the time and resources into making this a valid PR ploy. We are all now conditioned to react to a ‘Doomsday’ scenario.

Government re-use. Stroger should use it to his advantage: “June 1 Doomsday! 50 doctors cut!”

Comment by Leroy Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 9:50 am
And yet the people of Cook County elected the man. I wish people could predict whether or not he’d be a one-termer. And Peraica should either learn a lesson from last time or get out of the idea of moving up in politics.

Also I really liked that CTA editorial in the Tribune. I never thought that politicians saw the CTA in such a way. As a frequent transit rider there are different kinds of people who ride the L and buses. From different backgrounds and mostly going to work in the neighborhoods or downtown. Then those who are taking transit to school and such.

Comment by Levois Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 10:04 am
Gotta love the Stroger quote. Maybe a million bucks of fat? No wonder we’re in such straits - he doesn’t have a frigging clue…

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 12:25 pm
I’m glad to hear that Suffredin has decided to vote no on any sales tax increase. Given Todd Stoger’s executive ineptitude and the appalling level of mediocrity on the Ccok County Board as a whole, I reluctantly have concluded that the best interim strategy until the next election is to “starve the beast” until real reforms are implemented.

Todd Stoger has never had any crediblity with the general public as a leader outside the 8th Ward and never will. I think Stroger has been a lame duck since the day after he was elected.. If we can not defeat him in the next Democratic primary, then we are going to have a Republican or nominally-independent President-elect of the Cook County Board in November 2010. Stroger will never be reelected!

Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 12:25 pm
So now we’re basing legislation on the speculation that there could, possibly, just maybe be some fat somewhere? How about finding it showing us?

How did that old commercial go? “Where’s the FAT?”

Comment by Squideshi Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 12:40 pm
Squid,

How about reversing that. Stroger claims he needs a 266% increase in the sales tax because of a supposed $317 million deficit, but refuses to show us the budget first. It’s hard to point to the specific fat if you refuse to disclose the budget before claiming a need for massive new revenues. Show me the budget.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 12:48 pm
Chicago Cynic, I will agree with that. The budget should be disclosed in either case.

Comment by Squideshi Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 1:14 pm
If you provide new revenue for Cook County without first requiring reform, you will never see any changes. It will be business as usual for years to come.

Comment by Up North Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 2:31 pm
That’s my big beef with all these government or quasi goverment agencies asking for more $$. If we thought they were running even modestly efficiently, we wouldn’t mind so much. But which entity strikes us as efficiently run? I’m having a helluva time coming up with one.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 3:53 pm
That Tribune piece on the structural nature of the current deficit was stunning.

It is Classic “Big Government” - they found a source for more money (federal grants) then promptly expanded their expenditures, not on a one-time basis such as infrastructure, mind you, but in a health care system that requires the same revenue stream to keep functioning. Now that the Feds have closed off the spiggot, the taxpayer has to take it in the neck to cure the new revenue “shortfall”.

Talk about “The Beast”!

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Oct 9, 07 @ 5:21 pm
“There could be up to a million dollars worth of fat, maybe.”

Mr. Stroger is correct. The fat is between his ears.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Oct 10, 07 @ 9:30 am