Should all of Illinois pay for Chicago mass transit?

Question

On the news channel from Chicago they are expressing that Chicagoans and the people that run the city are really mad at the governor.
They think he is doing the wrong thing by not passing a bill to have that whole state of Illinois pay taxes to help the mass transit in the city.
Do the people of Chicago know that there are many other people in the state that do not go to Chicago and use the mass transit.
They do not want to pay taxes for something they are not using.
Why don't Chicago just get that message and increase the fares for people who use it? Then they can pay their own bills and do their own upkeep of the sysyem.
The other people in the state of Illinois are sick and tired of paying for Chicago to get everything they want.

Answer 1

The problem is that the mass transit they are talking about includes the Metra. Metra trains go to Geneva, Aurora, Chain of lakes, Orland Park, and several southern suburbs. It is not just the CTA.

Don't know if there is a real fair answer to this one. The CTA serves lots of poor people including the disabled who have no other options. The Metra also serves the poor, the students and it is talking about expanding into farther suburbs. There are more people than just those in the city who uses the mass transit as defined in this bill.

Then you need to look at who is bringing revenue into the state by way of taxes (property, income, sales). Chicago as a city, Cook County, and the other suburbs serviced by the mass transit provide a large portion of the income which runs the state. Maybe a fair response would be that Chicago and the cities served by the mass transit be exempt from some of the taxes it sends to Springfield and use that money for the transit.

Unfortunately this is not an 'us v. them' or 'big city v. rest of the state' issue. Someone needs to look at the money that goes into the state from the areas served by mass transit and balance that against what mass transit needs to continue - and what will happen to revenue is mass transit fails. If our elected officials in Springfield would pay more attention looking at all sides of the problem instead of posturing along party lines these issues would be resolved.

Answer 2

While I don't live in Chicago, I would ask all the answerer's out there to consider how much in corporate taxes are paid by businesses in Chicago? This is revenue that goes to the state's general fund, and offsets lower property and income tax rates affecting the whole state.

As Chicago has some of the worst traffic around, realize that businesses consider commute to work as part of their decision to relocate to somewhere or to stay where they are. If workers will have a hellish commute, businesses are less likely to stay in Chicago or relocate to Chicago. This ultimately means a reduction in corporate income taxes paid, and the citizens of Illinois as a whole will have to make up for the lost revenue through higher state income and property taxes.

So in a way, the mass transit system in Chicago is good for all residents of Illinois.

Answer 3

That should be a Cook County tax bill at most, if not municipal. If they can't come up with the funds to improve the mass transit system, they should do the best they can with the budget they've got. Just like everybody else.

Answer 4

No, we should not have to support the mass transit of Chicago, I have never used it and in all likely hood never will.This is one bill I have to say thank you to the governor. He promised to help downstate and by refusing to support this he has finally done something to help.