RTA Governance

[Busjack]

I think Claypool is underestimating the part of the voters.I can list other things voters can be mad at Emanuel about.

Like schools and the homicide rate, maybe. However, who else isn't a Chicago political hack and has a Hollywood agent brother who can raise funds?

Besides that, how is Emanuel accountable for, say, the dragging Purple Line project in Evanston, or the Ventra mess in the suburbs? Do we get a chance to vote out Brad Stephens, too (if we don't live in Rosemont, or even the few that do)?

In fact, Pace generally working indicates that Claypool, who does not have the legal qualifications to hold his job, is wrong about it being crazy, so he may as well quit.

[mkohut]

Like schools and the homicide rate, maybe. However, who else isn't a Chicago political hack and has a Hollywood agent brother who can raise funds?

Besides that, how is Emanuel accountable for, say, the dragging Purple Line project in Evanston, or the Ventra mess in the suburbs? Do we get a chance to vote out Brad Stephens, too (if we don't live in Rosemont, or even the few that do)?

In fact, Pace generally working indicates that Claypool, who does not have the legal qualifications to hold his job, is wrong about it being crazy, so he may as well quit.

I would choose Brad Stephens over Emanuel any day.He invest money into the shuffles get shoppers.

I wouldn't be surprise if the Cubs move to Rosemont.

I'm not saying Stephens is perfect.But it would be a improvement over Chicago politics

[Busjack]

I would choose Brad Stephens over Emanuel any day.He invest money into the shuffles get shoppers.

I wouldn't be surprise if the Cubs move to Rosemont.

I'm not saying Stephens is perfect.But it would be a improvement over Chicago politics

My only point relevant to transit is that the CTA rider in Evanston or the Pace rider from Dixmoor who transfers to CTA doesn't get to vote for either of them.

But Claypool thinks it is o.k. to be the mayor's puppet* rather than run the CTA in a proper manner.

_______

*To go off the deep end, maybe he can join "Little Drew Carey with a Scottish Accent" and "Little Morgan Freeman, who sounds like Geoff Peterson reading Secretariat's mind" at about 11:37:30 p.m. on Channel 2.

[mkohut]

My only point relevant to transit is that the CTA rider in Evanston or the Pace rider from Dixmoor who transfers to CTA doesn't get to vote for either of them.

But Claypool thinks it is o.k. to be the mayor's puppet* rather than run the CTA in a proper manner.

_______

*To go off the deep end, maybe he can join "Little Drew Carey with a Scottish Accent" and "Little Morgan Freeman, who sounds like Geoff Peterson reading Secretariat's mind" at about 11:37:30 p.m. on Channel 2.

The worse part is Claypool is a well pay puppet.

[jajuan]

I see from the homepage, that the Sun-Times has Claypool up to his old line again:

“I would never work for such a crazy governance structure,’’ Claypool said of one of the key recommendations of a $380,000 study by Delcan, a transit consulting group.

At least that would be a good result.

Claypool hates it so I like it. We need something that steers away from this current four board mess that now mostly serves as battlefield for these ego driven politicians to fight out the ridiculous "us vs them" "you keep your toys there and I'll keep mine here" battles that we collectively all too easily let ourselves get duped into keep perpetuating. And Claypool must have forgotten that CTA serves more than just the city, or should we now have the Yellow Line torn down and the Purple, Green, and Blue Lines chopped off at the city limits?

I think Claypool is underestimating the part of the voters.I can list other things voters can be mad at Emanuel about.

No what Claypool has forgotten or never really understood is even though the mayor appointed him to his job, he's still the head of a municipal corporation that's supposed to be independent of city government not play the role of one of the city's governmental departments.*

*Busjack managed to post that point as I was typing my response.

[MetroShadow]

I see from the homepage, that the Sun-Times has Claypool up to his old line again:

“I would never work for such a crazy governance structure,’’ Claypool said of one of the key recommendations of a $380,000 study by Delcan, a transit consulting group.

At least that would be a good result.

After reading that, the statement alone would justify the merge and his ouster.

[Busjack]

After reading that, the statement alone would justify the merge and his ouster.

Getting back to real questions, while Claypool's remark while Emanuel's mouth wasn't moving probably solidifies the city legislative delegation, whether the suburban and downstate legislators (which outvote them) actually have the gumption to do anything, or merely perceive this as a Metra problem, which apparently was solved by reconstituting the board.

[Busjack]

The worse part is Claypool is a well pay puppet.

His "Rise Health" must not have made much money selling corporate speak, since I don't think Emanuel had to lure him out of the private sector, and certainly not for $196K (now $205K).

But maybe a quote on their page should be taken the same way as Claypool's remark above:

"Patients should receive the same level of service in healthcare that they experience in other areas of their lives."

[Busjack]

Well this goes on, this time a fight over who should have borrowing authority, according to the Tribune.

I have taken the position that the agencies have created an Insull-type pyramid of debt, but as the article points out, any bonding authority comes from the Legislature.

The real question is if there were any sort of consolidation, who would be responsible for existing debt.

Update: Coming across another article on CTA fights back after credit downgrade, CTA gets caught talking out of both sides of its mouth:

The CTA in its statement Monday sought to counter Moody's grim assessment. The CTA said it was determined to operate within its means and has no plans to seek additional funding. It also noted sales tax, fare and other revenue is growing.

If that's the case, why all the complaining about unfunded needs and contention [i could use other terms] about a small amount of discretionary funding with the suburbs,holding up RTA funding marks for two months, and the b.s. that the funding formula is unfair because CTA provides 82% of the rides?

There has to be a point when Steele and Co. realize that they are outright lying. I'm sure Moody's isn't buying it.

[jajuan]

Well this goes on, this time a fight over who should have borrowing authority, according to the Tribune.

I have taken the position that the agencies have created an Insull-type pyramid of debt, but as the article points out, any bonding authority comes from the Legislature.

The real question is if there were any sort of consolidation, who would be responsible for existing debt.

Update: Coming across another article on CTA fights back after credit downgrade, CTA gets caught talking out of both sides of its mouth:

The CTA in its statement Monday sought to counter Moody's grim assessment. The CTA said it was determined to operate within its means and has no plans to seek additional funding. It also noted sales tax, fare and other revenue is growing.

If that's the case, why all the complaining about unfunded needs and contention [i could use other terms] about a small amount of discretionary funding with the suburbs,holding up RTA funding marks for two months, and the b.s. that the funding formula is unfair because CTA provides 82% of the rides?

There has to be a point when Steele and Co. realize that they are outright lying. I'm sure Moody's isn't buying it.

That article also stated that CTA was one of several agencies (those other agencies unnamed directly) that got a downgrade in bond rating. Even though CTA management does make questionable statements from what I got out of the article, Moody's seemed more concerned with the pension mess the Illinois legislature still seems loathed to try and fix any time soon and the so far still pending 2015 expiration to the increased state income tax we're currently paying as being the main onus for their downgrade CTA and other respective agencies than your perception that Moody's caught CTA management in any perceived lies. Yes CTA management is a mess, but you didn't point out the article suggesting that Moody's was actually looking at the larger picture of Illinois' political and financial mess, that the Legislature is still all too slow to rein in, is bleeding down and exacerbating other more local issues, such as the transit mess in NE Illinois.

[Busjack]

That article also stated that CTA was one of several agencies (those other agencies unnamed directly) that got a downgrade in bond rating. Even though CTA management does make questionable statements from what I got out of the article, Moody's seemed more concerned with the pension mess the Illinois legislature still seems loathed to try and fix any time soon and the so far still pending 2015 expiration to the increased state income tax we're currently paying as being the main onus for their downgrade CTA and other respective agencies than your perception that Moody's caught CTA management in any perceived lies. Yes CTA management is a mess, but you didn't point out the article suggesting that Moody's was actually looking at the larger picture of Illinois' political and financial mess, that the Legislature is still all too slow to rein in, is bleeding down and exacerbating other more local issues, such as the transit mess in NE Illinois.

I didn't mention the whole mess, but CTA's finances aren't divorced from the whole mess, either.

There is the issue whether the 2008 pension bond financed by the real estate transfer tax took care of the problems with the CTA pension plan. To the extent that the RETT isn't sufficient, that has to be made up out of what we think is operating revenue, which is also pledged to "CTA Sales Tax Revenue Receipts Bonds," the only sales tax revenue being collected by the RTA. In any event, it is probably the bond obligations, and not operating costs, which have resulted in all the CTA's crying recently.

Also, one must assume that CTA engages in this bonding because federal and state grants don't cover capital needs. However, the state bond program has been held up, for the reported reason that the state's credit rating is shot due to the pensions mess, even though the capital bonds are secured by such sources as license plate sticker fees and liquor taxes. Except that it was also reported that due to liquor tax increases, receipts are down. Either way, CTA got the state money for the Red Line South, but its budget indicates that there isn't assurance that it will get the Illinois Jump Start part of the bond money.

I think I will stand on my Insull analogy.

[mkohut]

Unless,I'm missing something when reading Brian Steele comment.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/23423297-418/moodys-downgrades-cta-bond-rating.html

How are you going to get money for the Red Line Extension without asking.

[Busjack]

Unless,I'm missing something when reading Brian Steele comment.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/23423297-418/moodys-downgrades-cta-bond-rating.html

How are you going to get money for the Red Line Extension without asking.

As I indicated, he was talking out of both sides of his mouth, just not at the same time.

There might be the argument that the 2014 budget is balanced without a fare increase, and the extension will not be built without a source of funding (sort of like what Quinn says with regard to the Illiana Expressway), but given that the cover letter in that budget is nothing but complaining, something one way or the other is a lie.

The only real test is if CTA tries to sell more bonds and the Securities and Exchange Commission takes an enforcement action for fraud. However, any bond offering would have all the technical details in the back of the budget, so rating or no, CTA is going to have to pay a higher interest rate, just like the state does.

[Busjack]

A predictable editorial by the Daily Herald, a suburban newspaper. But, in any event, the Rahmfather is getting pushback from DuPage. Also note the comment by Froehlich, although I wouldn't argue that the north suburbs are underserved.

[jajuan]

A predictable editorial by the Daily Herald, a suburban newspaper. But, in any event, the Rahmfather is getting pushback from DuPage. Also note the comment by Froehlich, although I wouldn't argue that the north suburbs are underserved.

Especially not when we're speaking of Evanston or Skokie.

[Busjack]

Especially not when we're speaking of Evanston or Skokie.

But that gets back to who should serve them, since if the CTA reports to the Rahmfather, those suburbs are not represented. It is one thing for Claypool to say what he does, and another one for CTA to put in its press releases that it serves 35 suburbs (apparently down from 43 in Carole Brown days), to try to justify having the suburbs pay for CTA, which seems to be the point Cronin is trying to rebut.

If the argument is that the money should be spent where it is collected, then it comes down to similar things as Daley being the only one to cry "why can suburbs have Walmarts and we can't" in the late first decade of the 2000s.

[jajuan]

But that gets back to who should serve them, since if the CTA reports to the Rahmfather, those suburbs are not represented. It is one thing for Claypool to say what he does, and another one for CTA to put in its press releases that it serves 35 suburbs (apparently down from 43 in Carole Brown days), to try to justify having the suburbs pay for CTA, which seems to be the point Cronin is trying to rebut.

If the argument is that the money should be spent where it is collected, then it comes down to similar things as Daley being the only one to cry "why can suburbs have Walmarts and we can't" in the late first decade of the 2000s.

It also gets to why I've said CTA presidents, especially Claypool, need to stop acting like the CTA is a department or arm of Chicago city government even if the Chicago mayor appoints them to their job and act like it is the metropolitan corporation that it's legally supposed to be.

[Busjack]

It also gets to why I've said CTA presidents, especially Claypool, need to stop acting like the CTA is a department or arm of Chicago city government even if the Chicago mayor appoints them to their job and act like it is the metropolitan corporation that it's legally supposed to be.

Which is the other inherent problem. There is nothing in the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act that says that the mayor has the legal power to appoint a CTA President. Even the CT Board has to go through the charade of using its appointment power, like Carole Brown did when she said that she was delighted that Daley selected Huberman.

I'm surprised that nobody in the media has called Claypool on his repeated comment. Maybe it is because Claypool isn't smart enough to steal, like the people at Metra.

[mkohut]

Which is the other inherent problem. There is nothing in the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act that says that the mayor has the legal power to appoint a CTA President. Even the CT Board has to go through the charade of using its appointment power, like Carole Brown did when she said that she was delighted that Daley selected Huberman.

I'm surprised that nobody in the media has called Claypool on his repeated comment. Maybe it is because Claypool isn't smart enough to steal, like the people at Metra.

If Claypool did steal and was keeping his fellow politician company in jail. Wouldn't he lose his pensions?

[Busjack]

If Claypool did steal and was keeping his fellow politician company in jail. Wouldn't he lose his pensions?

He would, but it would have to be the pension for the job in association with which one is convicted. He probably hasn't been with CTA long enough to earn a pension there (there was the controversy at the time that Huberman was paying into the patrolman's pension fund because with all his subsequent job hopping, he would not have earned a pension).

The question is whether Claypool was smarter than all the people in the Stroger administration he was fighting, who eventually were convicted.

Anyway, I mentioned it only in connection why the media don't seem concerned about Claypool not meeting statutory qualifications, nor questioning his "I report to the Mayor" comment.

[jajuan]

Which is the other inherent problem. There is nothing in the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act that says that the mayor has the legal power to appoint a CTA President. Even the CT Board has to go through the charade of using its appointment power, like Carole Brown did when she said that she was delighted that Daley selected Huberman.

I'm surprised that nobody in the media has called Claypool on his repeated comment. Maybe it is because Claypool isn't smart enough to steal, like the people at Metra.

You just gave me a different level of understanding of your prior comments of recent CTA presidents not meeting statutory qualifications to hold their posts and the CT Board not meeting its statutory duties. Thank you. I did not know that based on the wording of the law, the Mayor of the City of Chicago may not have legal power to appoint the CTA President. This is what make the forum discussions important even when there are disagreements. You potentially learn something new.

[Busjack]

You just gave me a different level of understanding of your prior comments of recent CTA presidents not meeting statutory qualifications to hold their posts and the CT Board not meeting its statutory duties. Thank you. I did not know that based on the wording of the law, the Mayor of the City of Chicago may not have legal power to appoint the CTA President. This is what make the forum discussions important even when there are disagreements. You potentially learn something new.

Probably one of my repeated, but certainly less memorable points.

Anyway, for future reference, the citations, from Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, 70 ILCS 3605:

Sec. 19. The governing and administrative body of the Authority shall be a board consisting of seven members, to be known as Chicago Transit Board. Members of the Board shall be residents of the metropolitan area and persons of recognized business ability. Note that it does not say "transit activist" or "township supervisor," although the double dipping provision follows.

Sec. 27. The Board may appoint an Executive Director who shall be a person of recognized ability and experience in the operation of transportation systems to hold office during the pleasure of the Board. The Executive Director shall have management of the properties and business of the Authority and the employees thereof, subject to the general control of the Board ...

Underlined emphasis added in both cases.

[mkohut]

A predictable editorial by the Daily Herald, a suburban newspaper. But, in any event, the Rahmfather is getting pushback from DuPage. Also note the comment by Froehlich, although I wouldn't argue that the north suburbs are underserved.

While there are areas in Dupage that have no service.The fact is you get what you pay for.

They have a lower sale tax and gasoline tax.

Do they expect Elk Grove Village and Schaumburg to pay for it.

[Busjack]

While there are areas in Dupage that have no service.The fact is you get what you pay for.

They have a lower sale tax and gasoline tax.

Do they expect Elk Grove Village and Schaumburg to pay for it.

To analyze this, one has to distinguish between "old money," which was the RTA sales tax rate before 2008 (1% Cook and .25% collar counties) and the additional .25% "new money" added in 2008. There are also "off the tops," including for paratransit, ICE,and South Suburban jobs funds.

The real question there is whether the .50 RTA tax in the collar counties that goes to transit* is mostly used to subsidize the CTA. While Metra and Pace get 100% of the "old money," CTA gets 99% of the discretionary money (over which CTA battles), and 48% of the last .25 imposed in 2008 (70 ILCS 3615.4.03.3). Allocation of the old money after RTA takes the discretionary funds is 70% Metra and 30% Pace.

Of course, suburban Cook get the shaft without the elevator, since the breakdown of the old money is 30% CTA, 55% Metra and 15% Pace. The argument is properly made that CTA serves 35 suburbs,and 40% of Pace traffic is transfers from CTA, including, no doubt to get to Schaumburg via the Rosemont Blue Line.

On the other hand, this is sales tax (remember my reference to the effect of keeping Walmart out of Chicago),and Schaumburg generates an awful lot of it from Woodfield and the adjoining malls, and all the car dealerships.

My only point was that someone agreed to the allocation in 2008, and it appears unseemly for CTA to go back to complaining 5 years later, especially when it has withdrawn from about 8 suburbs (its count) and various portions of the city.

_____

*The collar county rate is .75, but .25 goes directly to the counties for transportation and police purposes; apparently imposed because Lake County voters wouldn't approve a local sales tax for highway purposes.

[mkohut]

To analyze this, one has to distinguish between "old money," which was the RTA sales tax rate before 2008 (1% Cook and .25% collar counties) and the additional .25% "new money" added in 2008. There are also "off the tops," including for paratransit, ICE,and South Suburban jobs funds.

The real question there is whether the .50 RTA tax in the collar counties that goes to transit* is mostly used to subsidize the CTA. While Metra and Pace get 100% of the "old money," CTA gets 99% of the discretionary money (over which CTA battles), and 48% of the last .25 imposed in 2008 (70 ILCS 3615.4.03.3). Allocation of the old money after RTA takes the discretionary funds is 70% Metra and 30% Pace.

Of course, suburban Cook get the shaft without the elevator, since the breakdown of the old money is 30% CTA, 55% Metra and 15% Pace. The argument is properly made that CTA serves 35 suburbs,and 40% of Pace traffic is transfers from CTA, including, no doubt to get to Schaumburg via the Rosemont Blue Line.

On the other hand, this is sales tax (remember my reference to the effect of keeping Walmart out of Chicago),and Schaumburg generates an awful lot of it from Woodfield and the adjoining malls, and all the car dealerships.

My only point was that someone agreed to the allocation in 2008, and it appears unseemly for CTA to go back to complaining 5 years later, especially when it has withdrawn from about 8 suburbs (its count) and various portions of the city.

_____

*The collar county rate is .75, but .25 goes directly to the counties for transportation and police purposes; apparently imposed because Lake County voters wouldn't approve a local sales tax for highway purposes.

While Dupage brings in 78.3 million.

I haven't heard of any new service or anyone wanting more frequent service in Dupage.

Other then the Addison to Schaumburg where there is a grant.

I'm sure Pace would have done a study and figure out the cost.