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The tax hike is projected to generate $478 million a year as
part of the $1.5 billion in annual transit funding provided in
Senate Bill 2111.
State Rep. Steven Reick, R-Woodstock, said suburban taxpayers
are bailing out the Chicago Transit Authority.
“We're giving them a lifeline of money that we're not getting
anything in return for,” Reick said.
The Center Square asked Reick if higher taxes might drive people
out of the area.
“Here in McHenry County, we're obviously on the border with
Wisconsin. I think people are going to make economic choices to
drive up to Walworth, in my case, to buy gas and things like
that,” Reick said.
SB 2111 also gave the Illinois Tollway Board the power to raise
tolls.
Before the bill passed, state Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, said he
appreciated the desire for a state-of-the-art mass transit
system.
“I don’t know how, though, we justify spending more money than
we need after $2 billion of tax increases in the last few
years,” Ugaste said.
The west suburban Republican noted that the region’s transit
fiscal cliff was revised downward well before the tax
legislation was called to the floor.
“The RTA came to us in October after telling us for a year that
they needed $771 million and said, ‘oh by the way, we can get by
with about $230 million,’” Ugaste said.
Ugaste said spending more money than necessary is not the right
answer.
In McHenry County, Reick said most regularly-scheduled Pace
buses run empty.
“If we could work out an intergovernmental agreement with Metra
to keep rail service coming out here to McHenry County, I
wouldn't have a problem if our county board put a referendum on
the ballot to get us out of this thing completely,” Reick said.
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