Last week, with just days before dramatic fare increases and service cuts to the region's transit system, Governor Blagojevich found money to temporarily bail out transit service in Northeastern Illinois. While the Governor may characterize this as a gift, commuters should wait before sending a thank you note.
In reality, Governor Blagojevich has opposed Senate Bill 572, legislation that stops the cycle of doomsday scenarios commuters have faced over the last few months. It is legislation that links new, reliable funding sources with reforms that help ensure better efficiency among the three transit service boards that provide service in the Chicagoland region.
However, the failure to fix transit funding does not lie with the Governor alone. Lawmakers have stalled all year in Springfield, instead choosing to play political games with transit reform legislation. If these games continue commuters will be the losers.
For example, the suburban transit agency PACE faces a $50 million shortfall this year. That's 20 percent of its annual budget. Metra has already indicated that without additional funding, they will be forced to delay critical maintenance programs and raise fares by as much as 15 percent. With each temporary bailout, the budget hole only gets bigger.
Public transit is too important to our communities to let shortsighted politics in Springfield harm commuters across Northeastern Illinois. It's time lawmakers get their act together and stop playing games before the "gift" of temporary funding runs out on December 31st.
Illinois PIRG is a non-profit, public interest research and advocacy organization with 10,000 citizen members statewide. For more, visit www.illinoispirg.org
