November 29, 2007
Is it so hard to do the right thing for mass transit? The CMAP Board does not presume to speak for either side in the on-going Springfield stalemate over how -- or, incomprehensibly, even "whether" -- to fund a healthy transit system for northeastern Illinois. But on behalf of our region, we are speaking unanimously in support of a long-term solution, and not some Band-Aid approaches that have recently been floated. We believe the best solution was already set forth by Senate Bill 572, whose sponsor is Rep. Julie Hamos.
We urge the General Assembly to uphold that bill's principles, such as important accountability provisions and reform for CTA pension and health-care systems. In the near term, such legislation should obviously avoid the nightmarish transit cuts that threaten to leave riders stranded in the dead of winter if a funding package doesn't pass soon. But just as important, it must also include stable funding for transit's long-term future. Nothing less is acceptable.
Therefore the CMAP Board -- representing the collective will of our region, with equal representation from the collar counties, suburban Cook, and the City of Chicago -- remains committed to principles in the Hamos bill, SB 572. Funding should be predicated on reforms at the transit agencies, and the revenue source should be provided equitably by our region's counties. That approach, as stated in SB 572, has virtually unanimous and bi-partisan support from local and county elected officials. It does not ask our downstate neighbors to bail out metropolitan Chicago.
Our transit system is the heart of prosperity in northeastern Illinois, a region whose prosperity is central to the State's. You don't treat heart problems with a Band-Aid. You treat them with utmost care. You take prompt action to ensure the system's viability. The current stalemate is totally unacceptable and extremely harmful to our region, both in the short- and long-term.
The CMAP Board calls on our leaders in Springfield to do the right thing at last. Passing SB 572 or its equivalent is the only way to protect a precious transit system that must not be treated as a political football. This isn't just about the short-term consequences of a transit shutdown, although those are real and potentially devastating to residents of the region. This is about protecting transit now and for future generations.
City of Chicago Appointments
CMAP vice chairman Rita Athas, deputy chief of staff, City of Chicago
Frank Beal, executive director, Chicago Metropolis 2020
Raul Raymundo, executive director, Resurrection Project
André Rice, president, Muller and Monroe Asset Management
Nigel Telman, partner, Sidley Austin LLP
Cook County Appointments
CMAP chairman Gerald Bennett, mayor, Palos Hills (Southwest Cook)
Anthony Calderone, mayor, Forest Park (West Central Cook)
Zenovia Evans, mayor, Riverdale (South Cook)
Calvin Jordan, highway commissioner, Rich Township (Cook)
Al Larson, mayor, Schaumburg (Northwest Cook)
Collar County Appointments
CMAP vice chairman Elliott Hartstein, mayor, Buffalo Grove (Lake)
Marilyn Michelini, mayor, Montgomery (Kane/Kendall)
Dan Shea, McHenry County board member (McHenry)
Roger Claar, mayor, Bolingbrook (Will)
Rae Rupp Srch, former mayor, Villa Park (DuPage)