Quote:
Originally Posted by cscmc1
If you can't figure out why downstate folks are frustrated with Chicago, there's really not much more to say.
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Here's another piece to chew on:
http://jg-tc.com/news/article_c34add5e-3e2c-11e0-9118-001cc4c03286.html
Road fund raid decried by both Democrats and GOP
By KURT ERICKSON, JG/T-C Springfield Bureau JG-TC.com | Posted: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 3:45 am |
SPRINGFIELD - Democrats and Republicans alike who represent downstate Illinois are calling on Gov. Pat Quinn to put the brakes on a plan to divert money from the state's highway construction fund.
As part of his proposed budget, the Chicago Democrat wants to spend $85 million from the state's main road repair fund on mass transit funding centered in Cook County and its suburbs.
"I'm not in favor of that," said state Rep. John Bradley, a Democrat from Marion.
"Road fund money is for roads," added state Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill.
The opposition is just one more roadblock Quinn faces as he attempts to move his spending plan through the General Assembly. Along with concerns about proposed cuts to social service programs, the governor is being criticized for wanting to boost overall state spending by more than $1 billion at a time when the state remains mired in debt.
"He's just not getting it," said state Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon. "To be shifting anything around right now is probably not very prudent."
According to a House Democrat analysis of the proposed budget, Quinn would take $48.5 million out of the road fund to help Chicago area transit agencies pay for items like reduced fares for students, seniors and handicapped users.
He also wants to tap the road fund for $37 million to help pay for Amtrak service, which has previously been paid out of the state's general checkbook.
The road fund is financed by revenue from the state's gas tax, as well as various vehicle-related fees. The governor's budget estimates the state portion of the fund will be about $1.3 billion during the fiscal year beginning July 1.
A longtime formula embraced by downstate lawmakers but disliked by Chicago-area officials has called for 55 percent of the road fund to go toward areas south of Interstate 80, with 45 percent reserved for road projects in northeastern Illinois.
Bradley, who chairs the House Revenue Committee, says Quinn should adhere to that historic split.
"Anything that would change that funding ratio, I would be opposed to it," Bradley said.
While it's not clear if the formula will change, taking money out of the road fund for other purposes is not a new gambit by governors. During the early years of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's tenure, an estimated $2.15 billion in road funds were used for other purposes, including an expansion of health insurance programs for children.
Quinn also investigated a plan to use road fund dollars to prop up the state's ailing general revenue fund. But, in September 2010, his budget office dropped the idea amid mounting opposition from Republican legislative leaders.
Bivins and other lawmakers decried the latest budget move.
"It's more smoke and mirrors," said Bivins. "It's just more of the same."
"They are always looking for money from the fund," added Reis.
A spokeswoman for the governor's budget office did not immediately return messages Monday.