* 10:06 am - Another secret plan perhaps? From a press release…
Prior to departing for Springfield for legislative negotiations, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich will hold an availability with the media to discuss his efforts to resolve the mass transit funding issue and avoid service cuts and fare hikes on Sunday.
WHO: Governor Rod R. Blagojevich
WHAT: Governor Blagojevich will hold media
availability in regards to mass transit funding.
WHEN: 12:00 pm
WHERE: Signature Flight Support O’Hare Airport (VIP
Room)
Patton Road, Building 800
Chicago, IL. 60666
* 10:28 am - This morning, the Pantagraph reported that military veterans were losing guard jobs at National Guard sites in Illinois. Ironically, according to a press release from the governor, November is “Hire a Vet Month”…
Building on his commitment to help the state’s Veterans get the opportunities they have bravely earned, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today encouraged employers to hire the state’s military heroes during “Hire a Vet Month” in Illinois. The state will host several job fairs for Veterans this month and the Governor reminded employers of the new state income tax credit available of up to $600 for every qualified Veteran they hire.
* 10:30 am - Very, very bad news. A thousand high-paying factory jobs in Illinois are about to disappear…
On Thursday, Chrysler planned to announce the elimination of third shifts at the Toledo North plant in Ohio and the Belvidere plant in Illinois in the first quarter of 2008, according to two congressional aides with knowledge of the announcement. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The decisions will eliminate 750 jobs in the Toledo plant, which makes the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro, and 1,000 jobs at the Belvidere plant, where Chrysler assembles the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.
* 11:36 am - From Save Chicago Transit, here’s the “big board” totals from the first mass transit bailout vote in the House. The bill was put on “Postponed Consideration” so there’s no official roll call on record. As you can see, even if the “absent” members return tomorrow, they still have a long way to go to get to three-fifths…
* 12:19 pm - The House is now in session. Listen here.
* 12:27 pm - The House is adjourning. That was quick. They’re headed to caucus now. Mass Transit Committee is meeting after the caucus.
* 12:47 pm - Every “insider” I talked to yesterday said the exact opposite of this report from WBBM Radio…
Despite some misgivings among House Republicans, the betting among insiders on both sides of the political aisle is that House Speaker Michael Madigan can win passage of a transit bill that contains a quarter of a percent hike in the regional sales tax.
We’ll see what the week brings. Madigan has been burning up the phones, but there are serious impediments ahead, including the governor’s 5 House Democratic “No” votes in Blagojevich’s pocket.
*** 1:00 pm *** Without providing specifics, Gov. Blagojevich told reporters today that he’ll come up with another short-term bailout for mass transit if a permanent solution isn’t approved by Sunday, the CTA’s “doomsday” deadline. Blagojevich reportedly said that permanent solution is looking less and less likely as the deadline approaches.
*** 1:59 pm *** From the AP…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he’s hoping he and legislative leaders can agree on a transportation bill.
But Blagojevich says - if they can’t - he has a contingency plan to give Chicago-area transit agencies the cash needed to avoid massive service cuts and fare increases slated to start Sunday.
The governor says there’s state money available to delay the crisis, but he stresses that the Regional Transportation Authority and the Chicago Transit Authority will have to accept the cash.
Crain’s…
“I was more optimistic at the beginning of the week,” CTA Chairman Carole Brown said Thursday at a news conference after an RTA board meeting. “As we get closer to Sunday, I’m getting more nervous.”
*** 2:00 pm *** Check this out from the Daily Herald…
RTA Executive Director Stephen Schlickman said the board will not support another stop-gap solution, such as temporary funding. Without the transit bill’s passage, he promised the RTA will pull the trigger Sunday as planned.
“I suspect there is a chance for additional votes, but I have no guarantee that it will actually pass,” he said this morning.
“I’m not feeling good at all. We’ve threatened all of our riders with poorer service for higher fares and I think, if we go forward with that, it’ll be an injustice to them.”
[UPDATED: OK, I may have misread his remarks. Still, it’s weird that they would rather see those fare hikes and poorer service go through than accept some money that (see below) they haven’t even received yet.]
*** 2:13 pm *** Well, this is interesting. Most of the original promised bailout money has not yet been distributed to the RTA, according to the comptroller’s office. From a Comptroller Dan Hynes letter to the governor dated October 25th…
As you are aware, our office issued payments for $37,318,100 to the RTA/CTA on September 20 as part of the agreement approved by the Board and authorized by [IDOT]. It was our office’s understanding… that an additional $54 million would be disbursed in two installments within the following two weeks as part of an additional advance…
To date, we have received no such request or any response from your staff to a recent inquiry on the issue…
You can download the complete letter here.