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Illinois

* Governor took gifts from indicted contributor, wife got job

* Paul Vallas expected to to take over Katrina-ravaged school district; more here

* Student loan probe targets three Illinois alumni groups

* Illinois Senate to take up House’s OK on rail authority

* Haas: Illinois on the road to safer cycling

“Illinois law says vehicles must pass other vehicles by a reasonable distance,” said Ed Barsotti, executive director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists. “People don’t connect that that applies to bikes.”

* Old State Capitol dome open to public for single night

* Ex-Gov Thompson sticks to his guns

* Metra, CTA, Pace prepare for the worst

* Transit funding lamented

* RTA: System doomsday looms July 1st

* Daley’s plan to move oversight board is attacked; Dick Simpson’s take

* Tribune Editorial: Cops and the OPS

* City supervisor not guilty of on the job politicking

* Jailed “hired truck” official denied alcohol treatment by judge

* Steinberg: Former top cop Cline may head up Olympic security if Chicago wins bid

* Rockford tax bill snafu no ’sleight of hand’

posted by Paul Richardson
Friday, May 4, 07 @ 8:02 am

Comments

“Metra, CTA, Pace prepare for the worst.”

What’s wrong with this picture?

We’ll sure-as-shootin’ have $4 gas this summer.

And public transportation is on its knees????

Mass transit is part of the solution.

And we treat it like it’s part of the problem.

Comment by Dooley Dudright Friday, May 4, 07 @ 10:25 am
Reliable, safe, and clean mass transit is the answer to many problems; but, until mass transit companies consistantly provide all these things, the mainstream citizen will not give up their private vehicles. The last time that I was on a mass transit conveyance, the person in front of me was extremely drunk and proceeded to copiously urinate as they just sat there while it ran under my feet.

Comment by i d Friday, May 4, 07 @ 11:24 am
Thought Jack Hartman made the CTA such a well-oiled machine! What he did, was make a lot companies outside the CTA very wealthy.
No wonder they’re crying for money!
Stay tuned, Jack was at the Illinois Tollway recently and he also made a lot companies very wealthy. Get ready for higher tolls soon. They are already crying for money on the North-South Tollway.
Get ready to pay big $bucks$ soon.
Nice job JACK! Talk to REZKO or KELLY lately?

Comment by Slow An' Easy Friday, May 4, 07 @ 11:41 am
Nothing but the BEST for Rod & Emil clans!

Comment by Pompous & Overrated Friday, May 4, 07 @ 11:48 am
Illinois taxpayers tend to expect little from their legislators and their governor and his staff (and state employees in general)–coming to work is great! Anything more than that is extra!

Presumably, the guv and his staff at least discussed the GRT, including likely objections, and decided to go forward with it. And it seems that now the uncertainty surrounding the GRT is
holding up planning on other issues, including the funding of public transportation.

The CTA, for example, needs more than just money.
It needs to reform its lavish pension system. It needs to get rid of acres of patronage employees who spend their days, when they come to work, on make work and never go near a bus or a train. Ron Huberman may be up to the task–or he may not.
We’ll see. But getting rid of the hacks alone won’t do it. Public transportation needs $$$$ from state coffers.

In the meantime, we are paying the guv and his staff nice salaries (with the expectation of private sector riches when they exit state government) and they need to move their plan forward. It’s up to them now. The guv can get the GRT through if he wants to. But it will take some actual work. The work we are paying him to do. If he can’t do it, we need to get somebody else. Just like in the real world.

Comment by Cassandra Friday, May 4, 07 @ 12:21 pm
Blagojevich Press Release: Everything is okay at the Blago Ranch. But please, no more questions for 3+ years.

Comment by The Blagojevich Mystery Deepens Friday, May 4, 07 @ 12:30 pm
“As chair of the audit committee, you’re working with people you assume are not criminals,” Thompson said. “I trusted them.”

Obviously, that was a mistake. Even giving Thompson the benefit of the doubt–assuming no wrongdoing on his part–exactly what did he think is the purpose of an audit committee?

Comment by Squideshi Friday, May 4, 07 @ 1:31 pm
“Suburbanites get great service, but they tend to take it for granted,” Reilly said. “There are few guarantees in life. Continued good commuter service in the suburbs is not one of them.”

Many suburbanites do NOT get great service. There are areas of Will County, for example, which are within the jurisdiction of the RTA and are provided with absolutely no public transportation.

The bigger issue here is urban planning. We’ve got a lot of regional planning bodies, but they need some teeth–plans don’t do any good if municipalities can simply ignore those plans.

Comment by Squideshi Friday, May 4, 07 @ 1:35 pm
What’s is the Blagojevich’s (daughters included) real income as to the one we all see on paper?
I’ll bet it’s staggering!

Comment by Remix Friday, May 4, 07 @ 3:43 pm