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Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Commentary: Chicago public officials must cut the fat before begging for taxpayer bailouts
As Yankees baseball legend and iconic quipster Yogi Berra is famously quoted as saying, 'It's deja vu all over again.' Once again the perennially and preternaturally cash-strapped city of Chicago, State of Illinois, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Chicago Public Schools are pointing at Washington, D.C., with their hands out, shaking their tin cups and blaming the federal government for letting the COVID cash faucet run dry. The message they're sending Washington, and local taxpayers, is as audacious as it is absurd: 'We're broke because you stopped giving us free money.' Not a word about decades of mismanagement. Not a whisper about institutional waste and inefficiency. And no sign that anyone in Springfield, City Hall, or the transit and CPS boardrooms is willing to make the hard choices that real leaders are supposed to make when times get tough. I watched this sad scenario play out for 37 years as a local journalist and 10 more as a good government watchdog, and nothing has changed. The pandemic didn't break their budgets — it merely exposed how broken they already were. The CTA is projecting a $600 million shortfall next year as federal pandemic aid evaporates. But instead of tackling excessive operating costs, administrative bloat and outdated labor rules, executives are spending their time lobbying for a federal or state bailout — one they know won't fix a single structural problem. Anyone who's taken the Red Line after dark knows the CTA doesn't just need more money — it needs more competence. Meanwhile, transit leadership continues to drive or be driven to work instead of riding, top managers cash six-plus figure paychecks and union contracts are treated like sacred texts instead of the fungible documents they need to be in the post-COVID era. Then there's City Hall, where Mayor Brandon Johnson is asking for hundreds of millions in new federal and state funds to prevent drastic service cuts while also rolling out feel-good programs with questionable funding sources. The migrant crisis, pension time bombs and public safety concerns are real. But rather than prioritize, consolidate and streamline, Johnson's team is cobbling together budget Band-Aids and sending invoices to D.C. or Springfield hoping Uncle Sam or Uncle J.B.— more accurately, taxpayers — will foot the bill. As for the state, the other bailout target of local governments, the picture's not much better. Gov. JB Pritzker proudly touted Illinois' temporary budget surpluses during the pandemic, but those were largely a mirage — the result of federal stimulus funds and delayed spending. Now that the spigot's shut off, the state's back to deficit projections and renewed calls for 'revenue enhancements' — political code for higher taxes on the very companies and people that are already exiting Illinois in record numbers. Finally, few local institutions are as financially fragile, and equally shameless, as CPS, which is projecting a $391 million budget gap next year; and like its sister agencies, pointing fingers at Washington and Springfield instead of looking in the mirror. 'The cliff is coming,' CPS officials say, referring to the end of federal COVID relief funding. But what they don't say is they built their post-pandemic budget on a sandcastle of temporary dollars with no plan for how to sustain expanded staffing and programs once that tide inevitably went out. Rather than using the federal windfall to right-size operations or address glaring long-term issues like special education, building maintenance, union overreach and enrollment-based reallocations, CPS went on a hiring spree, expanded programs without metrics, approved generous union contracts and padded administrative overhead. The real outrage? CPS is bleeding students — enrollment is down by more than 85,000 since 2010, but the budget keeps ballooning. We're paying more to educate fewer children, with less to show for it. Nobody seems willing to talk about the elephant in every government room: Waste, in its multiple iterations; there's enough fat in these budgets to make a butcher weep. But trimming it would require the kind of political courage we haven't seen in decades. It would mean saying no to special interests, rethinking sacred cows and upsetting the apple cart of status quo politics — a cart too many of our leaders are riding in comfortably. Instead, our politicians are taking the easy way out: Blame Washington, Springfield or the allegedly undertaxed wealthy, ask for more money and cross their fingers that voters won't notice the hypocrisy. It's fiscal malpractice dressed up as righteous indignation. And let's be clear about one thing: The federal government doesn't owe them another dime. COVID relief was meant to be temporary — a bridge over troubled waters — not a permanent subsidy for governments that refuse to adapt. If local and state leaders treated those funds as lifelines rather than blank checks, they would've used the past three years to modernize, trim and right-size their operations. Instead, they papered over the cracks, kicked the cans down the road and now expect Washington and wealthy taxpayers to refill the punch bowl. Chicagoans, and all Illinoisans, deserve much better. They deserve transit systems that work, budgets that balance and leaders who don't use crises as a cover for failure. They deserve governments that take responsibility for their own finances before asking others to bail them out. There's a concept in the private sector called accountability. When companies run out of money, they cut costs, restructure or go bankrupt. They don't send letters to Washington or Springfield demanding a lifeline because their customers stopped coming. But in the public sector, failure is rewarded with more funding and fewer questions. That needs to change. And it starts with us — the voters, the taxpayers and the residents. We need to stop accepting the tired narrative that more money will fix everything, and stop rewarding the elected and appointed leaders who espouse that canard. We need to demand audits, zero-based budgeting and creative, humane staff and agency cutbacks. We need to demand efficiency, and call out the bureaucratic inertia that keeps our governments stuck in a cycle of dysfunction. So the next time a city, state or transit agency asks for a bailout, the first question we should ask is simple: What have you cut from your own budget? If their answer is 'nothing,' or obfuscation, our answer to their request should be just as simple: 'No!' And many of those doing the asking should be pointed to the exit door. _____ Andy Shaw is a longtime Chicago journalist and former president of the Better Government Association. _____
CBS News
04-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Mayor Johnson says there have been "conversations" around tax on wealthy for Chicago transit funding
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday that he is hopeful lawmakers in Springfield will reach a transit deal before the Chicago Transit Authority hits a fiscal cliff. When asked about how to raise revenue, Mayor Johnson suggested a tax on the wealthy. "There's been some conversations about a millionaires' tax and other forms of progressive taxation that challenges the ultra-rich to pay their fair share," Johnson said. "I think that it's important that, you know, we come up with solutions that are sustainable, and that they don't overwhelm, you know, the pocketbooks of working people." This past weekend just before a crucial Saturday night deadline, Illinois state lawmakers passed a $55.2 billion state budget plan for the next federal year. But while the Illinois Senate advanced a measure to overhaul and provide hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for the Chicago area's mass transit system, the Illinois House didn't take it up before adjourning its spring session. Transit officials have said the Regional Transportation Authority system is facing a $771 million budget deficit in 2026, and if state lawmakers don't come up with that funding by this summer, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace must start laying out plans for service cuts of up to 40% for next year. To fund transit, Democratic lawmakers in Springfield called for a $1.50 tax on deliveries like Amazon, Grubhub, and Uber Eats, a 10% tax on rideshare trips, and add a new tax to charge electric vehicles. A surcharge on tolls has also been suggested. Mayor Johnson did not comment on the other revenue ideas floated by Illinois lawmakers during eth Spring Session. While the Chicago area's mass transit systems are funded through the end of the year, and there will likely be a fall veto session that could provide another shot at an 11th-hour rescue, transportation officials said without funding guarantees for 2026 in place by this summer, they'll have to start laying out the specific cuts next week to prepare for any potential service reductions next year. The CTA has said without the minimum funding it is seeking from the state, it would be forced to eliminate some or all service on at least four of its eight rail lines, close or dramatically reduce service at more than 50 rail stations, and eliminate 74 of 127 bus routes starting next year. The CTA has not yet said which specific 'L' and bus lines and 'L' stops would be affected. Meanwhile, Metra has said it would have to eliminate all early morning and late evening trains, reduce weekday train service to one train per hour on each route, and cut weekend train service to one train every two hours on each route. Pace would be forced to eliminate all weekend service and all weekday service after 8 p.m. contributed to this report.
CBS News
28-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Man charged with firing upward from CTA subway toward men on street in Chicago Loop
A man appeared in court Wednesday after police said he shot at two men in a restricted area of the Chicago Transit Authority subway system in the Loop. Chicago police said at 9:11 a.m. Monday, Rayvon Savary, 24, went into a restricted area of the Red Line subway. Police said he pulled out a gun and fired upward toward two men who were walking on the sidewalk in the 100 block of North State Street. Savary was arrested within an hour. He was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon, and cited for trespassing, obstructing access, and bringing weapons onto CTA property.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Blue Line trains halted at Logan Square due to ‘medical emergency': CTA
CHICAGO – Blue Line train service has been suspended between Montrose and Western Milwaukee due to a 'medical emergency' on the tracks at Logan Square, according to the Chicago Transit Authority. The CTA said trains are only running between O'Hare to Montrose and and Forest Park to Western Milwaukee at this time. Shuttle buses are available from Montrose to Western Milwaukee to provide connecting service. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines The public is asked to consider other service alternatives as well. Nearby bus routes include: #56 Milwaukee #76 Diversey #77 Belmont #82 Kimball/Homan CTA officials are working to restore service, but it is unclear when service will be fully restored. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Asia Credit Market Heats Up as Issuers Rush to Beat Tariffs
(Bloomberg) -- The countdown to US President Donald Trump's next round of tariffs has fueled a frenzy of activity in Asia Pacific's credit market, with more than a dozen issuers marketing or announcing dollar bonds on Monday. They Built a Secret Apartment in a Mall. Now the Mall Is Dying. Chicago Transit Faces 'Doomsday Scenario,' Regional Agency Says LA Faces $1 Billion Budget Hole, Warns of Thousands of Layoffs New York Subway Ditches MetroCard After 32 Years for Tap-And-Go Libraries Warn They Could Be 'Cut off at the Knees' by DOGE Korea National Oil Corp. is among the borrowers planning to price a bond on Monday, while Malaysian oil giant Petroliam Nasional Bhd has hired banks for what could be its first dollar issuance in almost four years. South Korean steelmaker Posco Holdings Inc., Philippine restaurant operator Jollibee Foods Corp. and Hong Kong metro operator MTR Corp. Ltd. are among the other issuers working on deals. They are turning to the bond market before a hotly-anticipated US tariff announcement on April 2, which Trump has referred to as 'Liberation Day.' Although the threat of rising tariffs has made investors nervous, it hasn't been entirely bad news for bond issuers: Treasury yields have fallen as investors weigh up the economic impact, reducing issuers' overall funding costs, while investment grade bond spreads in Asia remain tight. 'With Treasuries having rallied and credit spreads still near all-time tights, the Asian dollar primary market has sprung to life, with multiple issuers keen to lock in funding ahead of 'Liberation Day,'' said Mark Reade, head of credit strategy at Mizuho Securities Asia. Issuers in Asia Pacific have already sold almost $92 billion of dollar bonds so far this quarter, the highest quarterly volume since the first three months of 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Read: Trump Plans His Tariff 'Liberation Day' With More Targeted Push Trump is planning a series of so-called reciprocal tariffs, hitting countries that impose their own levies on US goods. There are signs the tariffs will be less sprawling than previously feared, but the uncertainty over Trump's moves has left investors across markets on edge. Borrowers also have an incentive to sell dollar debt before public holidays next week and the beginning of a results blackout period for some issuers, said Avinash Thakur, head of Asia Pacific capital markets financing at Barclays. --With assistance from Harry Suhartono and Wei Zhou. (Updates with bond relative value details and banker comment.) A New 'China Shock' Is Destroying Jobs Around the World How TD Became America's Most Convenient Bank for Money Launderers Tesla's Gamble on MAGA Customers Won't Work One Man's Crypto Windfall Is Funding a $1 Billion Space Station Dream The Real Reason Trump Is Pushing 'Buy American' ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
