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He won't sign it until he figures out how to spin it into HIS great idea. Time to light the torches and mobilize the peasantry.
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Sure that'd be great, who doesn't like free stuff, but we need to fight the real problems first. I'm supporting a raise in my sales taxes to keep the trains running for ALL Chicago, not to give out free rides. Sign the damn bill boy wonder. |
Blagojevich holds up transit funding
http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...1/34671192.jpg CTA President Ron Huberman waits to meet with Governor Blagojevich after Illinois lawmakers passed a bill to fund Chicago-area mass transit. (Tribune photo by José Moré / January 10, 2008) By Ray Long and Jeffrey Meitrodt | Tribune staff reporters 3:34 PM CST, January 10, 2008 UPDATE: SPRINGFIELD -- State lawmakers today passed a bill to fund Chicago-area mass transit with a sales tax increase, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he wouldn't go along until lawmakers agreed with his requirement to provide free bus and train rides for the state's senior citizens. |
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seriously, looks like huberman is about to draw. he also looks like ben stiller. he also looks like he is pissed. i am numb right now. i just can't fucking believe it. |
What???? Where did this come from? Why give free rides to seniors, who are statistically one of the wealthiest age groups? Couldn't be because they are also most likely to vote, could it?
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Hold up.... why is this such a big deal?
All the legislature can do is pass feel-good bills like the "moment of silence" crap. This fits right in with that theme, and provides Blago with a way to politically save face while allowing the tax increases that CTA/Metra/Pace need. I honestly can't see too much opposition in the legislature to providing free rides to seniors (who also vote, btw). It pulls more seniors off the roads, who are often accident-prone, especially when they have sight or hearing impairments. How many seniors take mass transit anyway? The revenue loss wouldn't be huge, right? |
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If the state wants to give free rides, fine. But pass the funding first, then go decide which other program to cut to get the funding. Because Illinois isn't running a surplus, so the money has to come from somewhere. |
Hah Hah...you all wanted him so bad in office. He and Stroger made me vote Republican for the first time and this is exactly why. The man is not in touch with reality! So I am pissed at him...but more pissed at all the voters who put the crook in office!
This is the FIRST we have heard of such a thing from Bagofshit. |
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if there is no chance this fails, fine, let the seniors ride in the engineer's cabin for all i care. i just can't believe he doesn't sign it and alleviate millions of riders' (well, hundreds of thousands) worries and sign the damn thing. |
Huberman's kinda cute...
but anyway. W. T. F.!?!?!? You have GOT to be kidding me that our worthless gov. is throwing this random crap in at the last second. Why in gods name couldn't he have mentioned this 2 months ago. Is he just doing this on purpose now? Or is he really just an 11 year old boy who likes to get a rise out of people? Who wants to grab some torches and drive down to Springfield with me. |
Anyone think Blago really doesn't want the transit thing sorted out? I mean is know he has strange ideas and has poor people skills but I can't think of a more irresponsible maneuver then changing the goal post at the 11th hour and making a new demand out of nowhere right when things become sorted. I don't have a problem with the demand itself but it should have been made weeks/months ago and is boderline criminal to raise at the 11th hour.
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Let's just hope the Feds get him before it's too late.
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^ Just what I was thinking. Can't we start the requisite gubernatorial indictment ceremony a few years early this time?
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Everyone light a candle for Fitzgerald!
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I'm optimistic. Even though Blago is being a twit right now, this law will serve me well about 34 (damn that number keeps getting smaller) years from now |
Roughly 75% of Chicagoans oppose free rides for seniors, according to a Tribune poll.
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Why would you want to subsidize wealthy people? I stated the poor seniors...that is enough. And they needn't ride during rush hour free either. |
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Is there any transit system in America where seniors ride free? How would the CTA even implement such a harebrained policy?
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I'm not sure if our political situation in this state would be called a comedy or a tragedy if it was made into a play.
Our governor is a sulking child and the legislature amounts to a pimp convention. |
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^ They should just brand all seniors' forearms. Then they can simply run their arms over barcodes to enter train platforms and buses
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Chicago should pass a rule to simply exterminate anyone who dares live here beyond age 65.
There, I improved the transit bill. Are we done yet? |
Damn that's a bit of fare box revenue the CTA has to write off from now on... good luck making the fare box recovery ratio now.
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If they are going to go this route, then I do believe that there should be a small fee. I believe the the tax rates that will go into effect will only cover operational cost. It woun't help purchase new equipment. If seniors are to ride the CTA, and the gov' want to make the burden less, seniors should pay a 1-time yearly fee of say $50 - $100 bucks, then this money could go to maintainence.
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^ Perhaps it has already been studied?
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Don't these people already get reduced fares!?!?!?
I don't think a LOT of seniors are pissing their pants over having to pay $35 a month for a transit pass, or .85 each ride........ I swear Blago is doing this on purpose, there's no other reason why he'd be doing this RIGHT NOW. |
I love this quote from the front page of the Sun Times today!
They listed out who we should blame, and this was one of them: Quote:
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I'm sure there are ways it could be done (i.e. money is set aside to a fund that reimburses CTA/PACE/Metra for each ride), but they haven't even done a serious study to see how much it will cost. This is not the sort of thing you spring as a surprise less than 2 weeks before a critical deadline. |
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Have you seen Avenue Q? We're the Schadenfreude for the rest of the country. (German for 'Happiness at the misfortune of others') |
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Personally, I'm opposed to the free ride plan. If the CTA is having funding issues, why propose a way to make the system less sustainable? I just think it's a way for Blag to score political points. Have I mentioned that I hate our Governor? So is Avenue Q that musical with the Rated R muppets? |
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i still cannot believe that he brought that up now. why not mention it effing two days ago?! twat. |
It's actually a pretty complicated proposal, but you wouldn't get that by listening to Blagojevich. By having seniors ride free, and costing CTA about $20 million a year (those seem to be the estimates floating around), that actually messes with the statutory recovery ratio of system-generated revenue, which means implementing such a thing would require either a fare increase or service reduction to maintain the recovery ratio, unless the RTA Act were amended to specifically allow free senior rides to be credited as system-generated revenue, or something of that sort. Of course, such legislative minutia is of no interest whatsoever to Rod, given that he keeps pulling all of this last minute shit out of his blagojevich.
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Lost in all the hoopla, and seemingly receiving no coverage anywhere, there is a 2008 CMAQ grant to support weekend Yellow Line service. I'm not sure when this service would start, but it's pretty cool news, I think. It certainly will go a long way towards supporting Skokie's efforts in making their downtown (anchored by a new Oakton station) into a retail/recreational/employment destination.
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- $17 million towards renovation of Clark/Division subway station (CDOT project). This is (potentially) really great news, because the money previously set aside for Clark/Division was reapportioned to support the Grand/State rehab. For $17 million, I doubt the renovation will be spectacular (considering Grand is costing $60mil), but anything is better than its current state, which is arguably the worst and most disgusting in the system. Judging by the progamming of the funds, construction would occur sometime between 2009-2011. The previous number I had seen for this rehab was $33 million, so I wonder if the revised amount is basically just elevator installation, a fresh coat of paint, some spiffed up light fixtures, and new signage. Of course, this isn't the first time this station has appeared in the capital program, so until there's a contract award for reconstruction, I won't hold my breath. - $7 million for the replacement of the 35th Street Pedestrian Bridge over LSD with a new bridge that is ADA-compliant and will accomodate bicycles; a CDOT project. I'm of mixed opinion on this, because the old bridge is kind of cool, if a bit dilapidated. I have no idea what the design of the new bridge will be. - Several signal interconnect projects on major Chicago arterials (Cicero, Roosevelt, 79th), about $5-8 million each. - About $1 million for "improvements" to the #47, #50, #52, #59, #73, and #152 bus routes. I don't know what these improvements are, but I would guess a combination of improved frequency and above all, expanded hours of operation (the #73 and #152 for example end mysteriously early in the evening). |
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http://www.architecture.org/drivesit...ein/35-1lg.jpg http://www.architecture.org/drivesit...ein/35-2lg.jpg If so I won't mourn the loss of the old bridge, but I'm skeptical this could be built for the $7 million appropriated by CMAQ, so presumably there would be other funds coming from somewhere. |
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http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2008/01...e-of-the-month Quote:
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Springfield is fucking useless to those of us in Chicago.. perhaps its about time we look back to the ideas thrown around in 1925 and just go ahead and finally secede from the rest of this crappy state and start our own state of Chicago.. we even already have our own cool flag. Chicago is by far the econonomic engine of this state anyway, and we can just start buying our crops from other states too.
Something like 64 percent of Illinois businesses and 70 percent of Illinois employment are located in the Chicago area. I have heard downstaters whine about having to redirect funds to Chicago, when those funds and more probably came from here anyway. They can go ahead and have the rest of the state, and Blahdickovich can run that into the ground for all I care. |
I don't think he was comparing himself to Regan, I think he was comparing himself to Gorbachev, fucking communist...
:yuck: :hell: :koko: That's right, Blago is a commie... I'll vote for secession in a heartbeat! The worthless bums in Springfield have never done us any good and they just take Chicago's wealth and waste it on building more highways for their SUV's! |
It's (unfortunately) against the U.S. Constitution for a new state to secede from another, right? Meaning, a Chicago secession would require a constitutional amendment, not just a referendum.
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