Doors shut on CTA's aid plea

Doors shut on CTA's aid plea Restructuring of funds on hold By Jon Hilkevitch and Ray Long, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Virginia Groark contributed to this report Published November 18, 2004 The Illinois General Assembly made it final Wednesday that there will be no additional money for mass transit from the state, which would lead the Chicago Transit Authority to proceed with massive service cuts in January or make cuts elsewhere in its budget to keep buses and trains running. The legislature's decision postpones a possible restructuring of transit funding for the region until the middle of next year at the earliest, and it comes as a related deal on money for mass transit was struck between Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) Madigan and Hastert agreed that no money would be taken away from the Metra suburban commuter rail service or from Pace, the suburban bus system, during the legislature's veto session, which is scheduled to end Thursday. Fearing a CTA money grab orchestrated by state lawmakers from Chicago, Hastert had backed legislation in Congress initiated by U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) that would effectively transfer some federal funding from the CTA to Metra if the state legislature shifted any Metra transit subsidies to the CTA. The accord between Madigan and Hastert effectively called a truce. "It's good news for suburban commuters," Kirk said. In a strategy widely considered a long shot, CTA president Frank Kruesi has challenged state lawmakers during the short veto session to rework the 21-year-old formula that funds mass transit around Chicago. Kruesi has warned the agency would have no alternative to imposing $55 million in service cuts on Jan. 2 if the state did not amend the funding formula to provide an extra $82.5 million to the CTA in 2005. "Without action to increase funding, the CTA faces few options other than implementing a gridlock budget," CTA chairwoman Carole Brown said. Regional Transportation Authority officials said they were optimistic existing money could be reallocated to stave off or minimize service cuts over the next six to eight months while lawmakers review transit-funding policy. "We still have six weeks, until Dec. 31, to work with the CTA to cobble together a budget that avoids the service cuts," RTA spokesman David Loveday said. Legislative leaders apparently were not persuaded by the CTA's doomsday scenario. House lawmakers called on CTA officials to consider putting together a six-month budget to hold the line until the General Assembly could address funding issues during the spring session. Rep. Art Turner (D-Chicago) said during a transit hearing Wednesday in Springfield that he hoped the CTA would call off the proposed cuts. "It's just a hue and cry from one little state rep that there not be any cuts on the CTA until we are able to resolve this crisis," Turner said. Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), chairwoman of the Special Committee on Mass Transit for Northeastern Illinois, said Madigan never intended to push major changes in transit funding through during the six-day veto session. "However, six months is a reasonable time line if we work hard as a committee," Hamos said. this quote really pisses me off.... ""It's good news for suburban commuters," Kirk said.">