Quinn Taps Ex-Lawmaker Who Backed State Income Tax Increase for Top Illinois Agriculture Job
(SPRINGFIELD) – Governor Pat Quinn today named former lawmaker Bob Flider director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
“Throughout his career, Bob Flider was a tireless, effective leader for rural farming communities and global agri-business leaders. He served his district with distinction, and I am pleased he will continue to serve all the people of our state,” said Quinn.
Flider served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003 through 2011. He sat on the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee, the Energy & Environment Committee and the Ethanol Production Oversight Committee.
The former lawmaker is one of six ex-legislators who voted for the controversial 67% state income tax increase in 2011 to land a job in Quinn’s administration, raising questions of political payback.
“After spending the last several years advocating for people in our farming communities and agribusiness, I look forward to continuing that work on a statewide level,” Flider said.
Flider must win Illinois Senate confirmation.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Sears “Holding Gun to State’s Head” on Tax Breaks, Rep. Currie Says
Illinois House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago)
(SPRINGFIELD) — A $250-million makeshift combination of tax breaks for businesses and tax relief for the low- to moderate-income families is positioned to come up for a vote in the Illinois House on Tuesday, a package that has drawn scorn from a top Illinois House Democrat.
The Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee on Monday approved the legislation, which is a trimmed down version of an earlier plan aimed at calming some of the state’s biggest businesses who are upset over a corporate income tax rate hike of 47 percent this year.
The most sweeping changes are its costs — estimates for the previous plan pegged its yearly cost at upward of $800 million in tax revenue — and its funding source.
The tax breaks will be funded by letting a provision in the tax code expire on Dec. 31. That provision allows a business to claim a tax credit for the full depreciation of a capital investment, like equipment, all at once instead of over the lifetime of the investment.
That will give the state upward of $250 million more in tax revenue annually, making the tax breaks a wash on paper, said state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marrion, who is sponsoring the legislation in the Illinois House.
Quinn announces PACE buses are now authorized as “off-road vehicles”
PACE buses begin riding the I-55 shoulder on November 14.
(CHICAGO) – Governor Pat Quinn and suburban public transit officials today officially announced the November 14 launch of the region’s first Bus on Shoulder program that designates Pace buses as “off-road vehicles” the Stevenson Expressway’s inside shoulder during heavy congestion.
This is one state program that is designed go off-track.
“This program will give commuters a safe, reliable and convenient transportation alternative,” Quinn said. “The buses will help ease congestion and improve air quality while keeping riders connected and productive with free Wi-Fi.”
Under the new Bus on Shoulder program, Pace routes 755 and 855, which connect the southwest suburbs, downtown Chicago and the Illinois Medical District, will be allowed to use the inside inbound shoulder for the morning rush hour and inside outbound shoulder for the afternoon return trip.
“Our program is modeled after similar operations in other cities that have existed for many years to provide safe, efficient and money-saving service to commuters,” said Pace Board Chairman Richard Kwasneski.
Cities such as Minneapolis, Miami and Cincinnati also have similar programs.
Buses can use the shoulders as a passing lane only when traffic is moving slower than 35 mph. They will be restricted to traveling no more than 15 mph over the top speed of vehicles in the expressway lanes and never greater than 35 mph.
Quinn, Emanuel plan $1 billion overhaul of CTA’s Red, Purple lines
CTA Red Line train at the Belmont stop.
(CHICAGO) – Governor Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday announced a $646 million state grant to repair and rebuild the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line and improve the Purple Line.
The plan brings the total state investment to $702.4 million for the Red and Purple Lines to date. Combined with $255.5 million in federal funding and $44.1 million from the city, the total is over a $1 billion investment. The project will rebuild sections of deteriorated tracks to eliminate slow zones, replace or repair aging stations, install new power systems to improve performance and upgrade a significant portion of the Purple Line.
“Chicago is a city on the move, and we must be able to move our residents with the speed and comfort that mark modern transportation,” said Emanuel. “These investments will make our city a more enticing place to live, to start a business, to raise a family.”
Construction starts in 2012 and will last three years.
The project will replace the tracks between 18th and 95th streets and provide upgrades to stations between Cermak and 95th Streets. Further north, the Wilson and Clark/Division stations, along with the surrounding track, will be rebuilt. The ventilation system will be upgraded on the underground portion of the Red Line through downtown Chicago. Three electrical substations will be upgraded. On the Purple Line, track between the Belmont and Linden stations will be replaced, eliminating slow zones.
The Red Line service first started in the early 1900s, and the State Street Subway portion was built by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration during the 1930s.
Last year, the entire CTA rail system handled 211 million riders.
