By JIM TALAMONTI
Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO, Ill. (IRN) — An Illinois state senator from Chicago has urged for a special legislative session to be called to fund public transit, but a Republican colleague says solutions should not place excessive tax burdens on residents.
State Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago, made the call Monday during a ceremony to mark the reopening of four Chicago Transit Authority train stations on the city’s North Side.
“I as a state senator am calling on my colleagues to come back to Springfield and have a special session so that we can fully fund public transit. We need a special session today, not next month and not in the veto session,” Simmons said.
Legislators are scheduled to come back to the state capitol in October. A special session can be called for by either the governor or by the Senate president and House speaker.
Earlier this month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said there could be a special session to address an estimated $760 million transit fiscal cliff. Last month, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said lawmakers have time and that funding doesn’t run out until Dec. 31.
A Senate measure to fund transit with a $1.50 retail delivery tax and real-estate transfer taxes failed to clear the legislature during the regular spring session.
State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, suggested Tuesday that much work remains to be done.
“I am told by members of the House that not only is Senate Bill 3438 dead on arrival, it has been dead and buried. Mass transit is dead in the water until cooler heads, on a bipartisan basis, can come together to find solutions that will not put excessive tax burdens on the residents of this state,” DeWitte said in a statement to The Center Square.
Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, discussed taxpayer investments in public transportation at Monday’s CTA Red and Purple Line modernization event.
Durbin said the $2.1 billion project included $1 billion in federal taxpayer funding he helped secure in 2017, after Congress passed the 2013 Core Capacity Bill to allow federal funding of existing transit infrastructure.
“Half of the investment came from that federal source. I’m not gonna brag on that, because it was your tax money we were bringing home, and it’s about time we did it,” Durbin said.
In addition to federal funds, the modernization project included $622 million in transit tax-increment financing funds from the city of Chicago as well as CTA financing. The CTA anticipates future phases of Red and Purple Line Modernization to be funded through a mix of federal, state and local funds.
Illinois’ senior senator used one of President Donald Trump’s campaign slogans to urge support for transit projects.
“I believe bringing dollars home and investing in our communities makes America great again. I believe that investing in the families that’ll use this as passengers makes America great again, and I believe the diversity of this nation makes America great,” Durbin said.
In addition to urging for a special session of the General Assembly, Simmons called for more bus rapid transit in Chicago.
“We can have more bus lanes, dedicated bus lanes, even on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. That’s the direction we’re going in,” Simmons said.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson applauded the CTA modernization project and repeated his call for more taxpayer dollars.
“Our work is not done. We need a transportation system that is fully funded,” Johnson said.
Illinois Realtors launched a campaign to oppose the real estate transfer tax proposal and stated that suburban home-seekers and homeowners should not shoulder the burden of “the failing CTA.”
The campaign website states that legislators should demand improvements in service, safety and ridership before raising taxes, especially only suburban property transfer taxes, to bail out the CTA. The realtors site also says lawmakers should not make housing less affordable when Illinois is facing an affordable housing crisis.
One mailer urged residents, “Act Now to stop a 600% property transfer tax increase.”
Greg Bishop and Brett Rowland contributed to this story.
