January 11. 2008

Springfield …Under legislation narrowly passed by the Democrat-controlled House, area residents of DuPage and Cook counties will now be saddled with an extra tax when purchasing groceries, clothes and other items. State Representative Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst) vehemently opposed mass transit legislation, which would bail out the fiscally irresponsible CTA by raising the local sales tax. Reboletti stressed the need for a capital bill to be tied in with any mass transit bailout.

Reboletti stated that even the CTA admitted that the exclusion of a capital plan would result in another doomsday scenario for riders in late summer. The mass transit legislation as passed would only help defer the cost of operational expenses and does not fund needed infrastructure improvements of the buses, trains, tracks, etc.

“Even the CTA has admitted to the fact that this state needs a capital plan,” Reboletti said. “Eighty percent of Illinois residents drive daily on our bridges, highways and local roads. We need to make sure that we properly maintain and improve our entire transportation infrastructure. The lack of a capital bill puts the majority of drivers at risk.”

House Bill 656 will increase the sales tax in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties, bringing in a projected $500 million for the Regional Transit Authority (RTA). The RTA is comprised of the CTA, Metra and Pace. Forty-eight percent of the projected revenue would be used for CTA operations.

In addition, Representative Reboletti pointed out that Governor Blagojevich has publicly stated that he will use his power to amendatory veto House Bill 656. The Governor will add a section making public transit free for seniors.

“It’s important to make public transportation affordable for our seniors who are on a fixed income. However, this proposal places an unfair tax on our seniors. Seniors will now be forced to pay more for their groceries and other necessities. Most seniors will not even see the benefits of free public transportation because they don’t have access to it,” Reboletti said. “There are families in my district and across the Chicagoland region that are living paycheck to paycheck and barely making ends meet. Governor Blagojevich and the Democrat leadership talk a lot about helping out these working families, but their actions show that they are only interested in increasing taxes and making it harder for them to survive in this state.”

Additional questions can be directed to Representative Reboletti’s office at (630) 530-2730.

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