Lease the Tollway?
- Politicians who hope to gain traction with voters by urging that the Illinois Tollway be leased to a private company might want to rethink their strategy.
By overwhelming numbers, Republican and Democratic voters alike oppose privatization of the tollway system and believe it would lead to higher tolls, according to a Tribune/WGN-TV poll.
How about paying off the bonds that were floated 50 years ago to pay for these things? Weren't they supposed to be freeways back around the 70's or 80's? The state wasn't supposed to create another huge bureaucracy with its own patronage army.
Labels: state politics
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
20 Comments:
two words...parking meters..ENUFF SAID!!
Any asshole that wants to sell the tollways needs an ass beating first, then voted out of office!
Grrrrrr! I'm still angry over the spilt coffe incident.
It's all legit!!!
Oh, yeah, let's DO this! Because, after all, that parking meter thing they did in Chicago has worked out SO well. Is this another Pat Quinn idea?
Welcome to AmeriKa!
The taxpayers are the owners of public infrastructure not the politicians.
These decisions need to be handled by voter referendum not CORRUPT CHICAGO MACHINE HACKS.
Sorry to disagree with you.
Making the Tollways free would be a huge mistake.
It would kill the IDOT budget.
Furthermore the tolls paid for the widening and reconstruction that was just completed.
You would not have had that without the tolls
let me know next time you see any government fail to seize the opportunity to create another huge bureaucracy. that is how government works. just like any other business, it needs to grow. more jobs, more money, more power.
DUMP ALL INCUMBANTS!
Right...then how much would the tolls jump just like the parking meters. I had a friend that had never been to the City, grew up in Northern Wi. didn't know about toll roads.
Brought him into the city and he thought it was odd that you had to pay to get into it, but stranger that you had to pay to get out of it.
never never happen--- too many connected guys making big bucks from idot.....
mikekilpatrick said...
Sorry to disagree with you.
Making the Tollways free would be a huge mistake.
It would kill the IDOT budget.
Furthermore the tolls paid for the widening and reconstruction that was just completed.
You would not have had that without the tolls
1/26/2010 01:35:00 AM
How do they do it in other states where they don't charge tolls? Funny that I can ride on Interstates for free in Wisconsin or Iowa and their pavement is as smooth as glass..how were their roads paid for?
Yes, toll collection does finance road building and maintenance..however, it also funds a whole army of workers. Wasn't there a scandal a few months ago that's been buried about how the average tollway worker calls in sick 21% of the time? Oversight? What's that?
A private company would be even worse since there's no accountability. The tolls would just keep going up and up, and the service would degrade to the bare minimum. Shortly following that, you'll have radar cameras (for "safety") and other bullshit moneymaking schemes.
I don't think it's a good idea to have any Interstate system, a system implemented originally for national security, in the hands of private corporations. CERTAINLY NOT any corporation vetted by the Illinois Political Machine. Can you imagine the bribes?!
The taxpayers are the owners of public infrastructure not the politicians.
////////////// Heck yeah!!!!!!!!!!!! Ive been saying that since he started this BS. What really gives him (them) the wright to lease our stuff???
Most clout-heavy organizations in Northern Illinois:
1. Metropolitan Pier and Expo Auth,
2. Illinois Tollway Authority,
3. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District,
4. Cook County Government, including the Forest Preserve District.
Good luck trying to get your kid a job at any one of them!
Sorry to disagree with you.
Making the Tollways free would be a huge mistake.
It would kill the IDOT budget.
Furthermore the tolls paid for the widening and reconstruction that was just completed.
You would not have had that without the tolls
1/26/2010 01:35:00 AM
Maybe true, but SCC is right, they were supposed to be freeways after they were paid for........
Sorry to disagree with you.
Making the Tollways free would be a huge mistake.
It would kill the IDOT budget.
Furthermore the tolls paid for the widening and reconstruction that was just completed.
You would not have had that without the tolls
1/26/2010 01:35:00 AM
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Well I'd have to disagree with you.
The original concept was that they would be tollways only until the original cost was recovered and the bonds paid off.
Then they would be freeways, meaning "free"
As to your arguement about the toll money being used to maintain them..this is flawed logic. Because there is a fuel tax surcharge on every gallon of gas sold in the State that goes into a fund to maintain roads in Illinois. Why do you think gas is so expensive in Illinois? Maybe because 40-50cents per gallon is tax.
I believe that most of the tollway money just feeds the "bureaucratic beast" that has been created.It is a form of welfare that gives "politically connected assholes" like John "quarters" Boyle high paying jobs..this for duche-bags who would otherwise be working in the produce aisle at Jewel!
It's just like the U.S.Department of energy that was created in 1977 under than President Carter. It was made to formulate energy policy and craft measures to create affordable energy,etc.
Twenty plus years later, energy costs are still high,and hundreds of billions of dollars have been flushed down the toilet just to give jobs to a few hundred thousand government "worker bees"!
Leasing the tollway makes a lot of sense if they don't piss away the money on some new scam.
I don't trust Illinois officials to spend that kind of money wisely, so I say a big "NO" to such an idea.
Any Politician that does this shit will NEVER, EVER get my vote!
You listening, Jim Ryan!
Sorry to disagree with you.
Making the Tollways free would be a huge mistake.
It would kill the IDOT budget.
Furthermore the tolls paid for the widening and reconstruction that was just completed.
You would not have had that without the tolls
1/26/2010 01:35:00 AM
the Tollways should have been paid off a long time ago.Any new projects should be paid off with new bonds. And getting rid of all the political hacks working the tollbooths would save IDOT enough money to keep the roads up.considering that the EDENS lasted over 50yrs before some idot decided to asphalt over the concrete we shouldn t have another major project until said asphalt breaks down
The Tollway should have been retired years ago. Some of the widening would not have been necessary but for the toll infrastructure. And look at the quality of the road network. It takes forever to get from point A to B in the Chicago area due to an outdated highway system.
Look at the road system in say, Minneapolis-St. Paul -- lots of freeways, all free, and supported by gas tax revenue.
They've got to be kidding. The parking meter disaster that Daley enacted is enough. Are they crazy? Oh wait, this is The state of Mental Illness, County of Corrupt, City of Shitcago.
And getting rid of all the political hacks working the tollbooths would save IDOT enough money to keep the roads up.considering that the EDENS lasted over 50yrs before some idot decided to asphalt over the concrete we shouldn t have another major project until said asphalt breaks down
good comment about putting asphalt over the concrete.... not to nitpick but it lasted a little over 30 years not 50..it was last rebuilt in 1977.
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