Illinois’ economic success relies upon access to a reliable, accountable, and safe mass transit system built for the future, but we need to get it right on governance and revenue

As seen in the Chicago Tribune

On January 10, 2008, during her closing remarks before the passage of House Bill 656, the 2008 comprehensive mass transit reform legislation, former State Representative Julie Hamos stated that the legislation would "provide for better regional planning, fiscal oversight, and fare service coordination." Representative Hamos further touted job creation, congestion reduction, downstate transit assistance, and focus on accessibility as key outcomes of the legislation.

Indeed, this legislation was widely believed to establish a new, lasting governance structure for the mass transit systems in the northeastern part of the State; as the sponsor provided, "if all goes well, we will never have to discuss mass transit again." As we look work to resolve a similar crisis today, I hope we learn from history and enact true, lasting reforms.

I would like to take a moment to applaud the commitment of the mass transit leaders in the Illinois Senate and Illinois House. Senator Ram Villivalam, Leader Eva-Dina Delgado, and Leader Kam Buckner have demonstrated an unquestionable commitment to "getting it right" and hearing from stakeholders.

In April, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce published its "10 business principles to mass transit reform" that we shared with our elected leaders to consider as they evaluated solutions to address the looming $770 million mass transit

funding cliff (a sum that has recently been partially reduced) and worked to create a more accountable, safe, and reliable mass transit system.

These ten guiding principles have been the lens by which the Chamber has evaluated mass transit proposals, including House Bill 3438.

Unfortunately, the Chamber opposed HB 3438. While we believed that the proposal was a step in the right direction, we respectfully urged the legislature to keep pushing for additional reforms, efficiencies, and meaningful solutions. We renew that call to today to review the following areas.

• Transparency and Accountability: While the creation of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority provides some additional oversight, we would like to see additional tools to ensure multi-system accountability, especially when considering that the four systems employ nearly 15,000 employees. Replacing the existing RTA Board could lead to improvements; however, it is difficult to trust that this alone will create results across the system. Moreover, while new board member qualifications, voting thresholds, budget-making process- es, debt issuance limitations, procurement standards, and additional auditing powers are steps in the right direction, the existing proposal does not appear to have enough emphasis on adopting best practices, employing truly independent, regular oversight, and fostering a structure that creates agency-wide accountability or corrective action.
• Public Safety: Outside of the significant issues related to public transit reliability, the ridership experience has been most impacted by the lack of public safety aboard buses and trains. While it is encouraging to see the creation of bodies such as the NITA Law Enforcement Task Force and the Office of Transit Safety and Experience, the real or perceived threat to public safety requires an im- mediate and comprehensive response that does not appear to be sufficiently addressed in the existing legislation.
• Service Reliability: HB 3438 creates several coordination or policy development committees, working groups, advisory councils, and other task forces. However, there is a long history in the State of "advisory" bodies not resulting in real reform.
• Government Coordination: Agencies at every level of government are responsible for mass transit. From planning to zoning, to capital development, and public safety, all levels of government have a stake and responsibility. We would like to see greater emphasis on fostering collaboration between these municipal, County, and State agencies on all aspects of transit.

Businesses understand that government is not free. There is a cost to providing quality levels of service. However, it is paramount that businesses and residents throughout the State clearly understand the following:

1. What is the spending plan?
2. How will revenues be allocated?
3. What new services will be promised to riders?
4. What projects will be funded?
5. What accountability measures will be put in place to ensure efficacy?

At a time when taxpayers have been forced to deal with the lingering effects of inflation (and recent signs of continuing rising costs), international trade uncertainty, challenging policies coming out of Washing-

ton D.C., and recent tax increases enacted both locally and at the State level, with additional onerous tax proposals being considered at City Hall, Illinoisians deserve to have clear answers ahead of significant tax increases being considered.

We urge our elected leaders to continue identifying reasonable cost efficiencies and spending reforms, true governance reform, and a fiscally responsible approach to revenue.

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