CHICAGO (WBBM) - Contingency fare hikes and service cuts are now just 30 days away for riders of the CTA and Pace. And Regional Transportation Authority officials say they see little chance for passage of the regional sales tax increase Gov. Rod Blagojevich has pledged to veto, if it reaches his desk.
Nor do they see agreement coming soon on possible alternative funding sources.
WBBM's Bob Roberts reports.
“I think it's fair to say we're at the end of our rope,” said RTA Executive Director Steve Schlickman. “If the sales tax is not going to fly, obviously we're open to other taxes as long as they minimally meet our criteria for a source of funding.”
CTA Chairman Jim Reilly acknowledged that there has been talk of substituting a parking tax or, at the suggestion of Illinois House GOP Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego), taking $280 million from the existing sales tax on gasoline.
The RTA seeks $400 million a year in new funding sources to pay everyday operating bills. Together, the parking tax and Cross' suggestion would raise that amount.
Reilly said he is not wedded to any specific funding source - just one that pays the bills.
“At the end of the day, so long as funds are roughly what we proposed, whatever the governor and the four leaders can agree on would find welcome acceptance here,” he said.
The problem, he said, is that they have not been able to agree on much of anything.
Reilly again voiced support for the bill, authored by State Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), that would increase the regional sales tax by a quarter of a percentage point, and increase the city's real estate transfer tax by three percentage points.
He said its chances for passage were made even slimmer by the 2 percentage point sales tax increase now before the Cook County Board.
“Certainly if the county adopts the sales tax, that's not helpful to our effort,” Reilly said.
While Schlickman shook his head emphatically “no” when asked if the Senate-passed infrastructure bill would provide mass transit the money it needs to make repairs, renovations and maintain the system, let alone expand it, Reilly said he considered it “a step in the right direction.”
Reilly said he believed the sentiment exists in both houses of the General Assembly to provide a level of capital funding that is higher, although not the $10 billion over five years the RTA has sought. The current Senate bill would provide $85 million a year for five years toward capital needs, along with a one-time $200 million ifusion of operating cash to avoid cutbacks and fare hikes until next year.
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