(The following story by Fran Spielman and Chris Fusco appeared on the Chicago Sun-Times website on November 15.)
CHICAGO — Mayor Daley today accused Republican legislative leaders of demanding unwarranted fare hikes and trying to make the CTA the “scapegoat” for their failure to agree on long-term funding for mass transit.
An aide to a top Republican leader responded that Daley’s anger is misdirected: The mayor should be angry at Gov. Blagojevich and other Democrats who control the Legislature for letting the transit funding crisis drag on for so long.
Daley said he walked out of a Wednesday transit summit called by Blagojevich — and refused to attend a second meeting that was scheduled for today but was abruptly canceled — because the primary focus was gambling, not transit.
“This is not all about casinos and gambling and poker machines and slot machines. . . . The highest priority is not about . . . who gets a casino or where the casino’s gonna be. The highest priority deals right now [with] people who use public transportation,” Daley said.
Pressed on why he refused to attend today’s follow-up meeting, Daley said, “My role is not to be the governor of the state of Illinois. That’s his role and not my role. . . . That’s their role to figure this out.”
Daley walked out of Wednesday’s summit at the Thompson Center, disgusted that he had been lured to the meeting in what a top mayoral aide later called a “classic bait-and-switch.”
Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago) left 30 minutes later after sparring with state Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) over a proposal to set aside 2 percent of proposed casino profits for impoverished communities.
Today, Daley said what little time there was devoted to transit was spent beating up on the CTA.
“At one time, there was a scapegoat called the Board of Education. And now it seems like some politicians are trying to make a new scapegoat. . . . They’re trying to make the CTA the scapegoat. And I defended the CTA. The CTA is not perfect. But, I did defend the CTA,” Daley said.
“Then, they said we have to maybe increase the fares for both Metra and the CTA. For what? . . . These people are doing them a favor taking public transportation. They’re doing a favor not to drive a car. Maybe they can’t afford a car and they’re trying to get to work.”
Daley never identified those he was accusing of trying to make the CTA a “scapegoat,” but he was clearly referring to Republican legislative leaders. The mayor and state Senate Minority leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) sparred during Wednesday’s meeting about the role fare hikes might play in a transit bailout.
Watson and House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) have discussed 10- to 15-percent fare hikes for the CTA, Metra and Pace — an idea that could decrease the amount of money needed from the state for a transit bailout by about $100 million annually.
The CTA is “not a scapegoat; they’re here with their hat in their hands,” Watson spokesman Patty Schuh said today, responding to Daley’s remarks. “The fact of the matter is the CTA, along with the other transit boards, are looking for additional revenue from the state to fund their operations. Modest fare hikes in light of skyrocketing gas prices and other operational expenses seem reasonable.”
Schuh also said Daley should be directing his frustration toward his fellow Democrats who control the Legislature. “Clearly the mayor is frustrated,” she said. “This could have been and should have been gotten to much earlier.”
Blagojevich, Watson, Cross and state Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) are considering using a chunk of the state’s existing sales tax on gasoline to fund transit. But the leaders haven’t reached a consensus about how they would replace gas tax money siphoned from the state treasury. Speaker Madigan favors a quarter-percent sales-tax hike to fund transit.
Four months ago, CTA unions hammered out a new five-year contract that calls for 10,200 rank-and-file employees to receive a 16 percent pay hike over the next five years that would be eaten up by contributions to health care and a pension fund on the brink of collapse.
Bus drivers and L motormen would lose money during the first year, break even in the second and finally start making money in the third year.
Today, Daley warned that the deal tailor-made to save the CTA millions will expire Dec. 31. If the General Assembly has not reached agreement on transit funding by then, the unions could walk away from the concessions they made, the mayor said.
Referring to union leaders, “They made the change. They walked the walk. They deserve consideration first and foremost. . . . The pension is a real problem at the CTA. Once you complete that, then you’ve overcome a huge hurdle for the Chicago Transit Authority.”
Last week, the CTA board approve another “doomsday” scenario should a transit accord not be reached by Jan. 20. The agency’s plan would eliminate 81 bus routes, lay off 2,400 employees and raise fares as high as $3.25 on rail passengers who pay cash and ride peak periods.
The action came five days after a $21 million infusion of capital dollars offered by Blagojevich postponed the CTA’s day of reckoning for the second time in recent months.
Daley has demanded that legislative leaders let the CTA know by Dec. 1 whether they can agree on long-term funding for mass transit in time to stave off doomsday fare hikes and service cuts in January even more dire than those just averted.