“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.

The CTA Blue Line is getting a $16 million upgrade.

(Chicago, IL) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday joined U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Governor Pat Quinn at the Logan Square L stop to announce that Chicago is receiving $20 million in federal funding to help rehabilitate a portion of the CTA Blue Line and to expand the Chicago Bike Sharing Program that is launching next year.

“I want to thank Secretary LaHood, Senator Durbin, Representative Luis Gutierrez and the Illinois delegation for their support,” said Emanuel. “We’re providing more stations, more service and more safety across the City, and this … grant will help ensure we provide a solid foundation for the city’s future.”

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), which will administer the Chicago Bike Share Program, are sharing the $20 million grant, with the CTA receiving $16 million and CDOT $4 million.

The CTA will use the funding to eliminate the slow zone between the Logan Square L stop and the California L stop on the Blue Line to allow trains to move at 55 MPH instead of the current 25 MPH, as well as help reduce maintenance and operating costs.

The Chicago bike share program will be partially funded by this grant.  Chicago expects to offer 3,000 bikes at 300 bike stations in June 2012, and plans to expand the program to 4,000 bikes and 400 stations by 2013.

Logan Square is a candidate to receive a bike sharing station in 2012.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel

(CHICAGO) – After the Illinois General Assembly this week restored approximately $2.3 million to the City of Chicago’s Emergency and Transitional Housing program, the city will restore funding to support 300 shelter beds at community based shelters, according to the city’s family services commissioner.

“With the winter season upon us, these funds will support critical services that will keep Chicagoans safe during extreme weather,” said Commissioner Evelyn Diaz, Chicago Department of Family & Support Services.

The funding will restore approximately 22 city positions, including the Emergency Services overnight team whose primarily function is to provide transportation to shelters.  Additionally, the city will restore nearly $600,000 in funding for approximately 300 shelter beds within 18 community-based shelters.

“I applaud the Illinois General Assembly for restoring critical funding to the Emergency and Transitional Housing program that supports homeless services and shelters,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “I want to commend State Representative Sara Feigenholtz and State Senator Heather Steans for their leadership on this critical issue.”

Since November 15, the city has been providing limited overnight transportation services with funding made available by Emanuel.

The City is working closely with the Illinois Department of Human Services and will begin the process of recalling staff and restoring funds to community based organizations upon receipt of the grant award, according to Diaz.

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.

The cost and funding source of the plan might have shifted over the past several weeks, but the heart of the measure remains.

CME Group, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and national retail company Sears Corp. have threatened to leave the state, if the Legislature doesn’t make the cost of doing business in the state cheaper, and spawned the original push to make tax changes before Dec. 31.

State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, likened CME Group’s and Sears’ threats to assault with a deadly weapon.

“We’re here today, because there are two companies in the state of Illinois that are essentially holding a gun to our heads,” Currie said.

Under the current House proposal, CME Group still would see annual tax savings of about $85 million, the single largest benefit outlined in the package.

Sears would get a tax break of $15 million annually over the next decade, as long as it keeps its headquarters and 4,250 employees in Hoffman Estates. Sears employees about 6,100 people at its corporate headquarters outside of Chicago.

CME Group alone was responsible for 6 percent of all the state’s corporate income tax before the corporate income tax moved from 4.8 percent to 7 percent last year. With the tax increase, CME Group will pay more than $150 million this year in corporate income taxes.

Bradley and state Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, who worked to hammer out the deal, said nothing prevents another large business from threatening to leave if another state offers a better tax deal.

“That is an ongoing issue that the (Illinois) Revenue and Finance Committee is trying to tackle. We haven’t come up with a good solution for that yet. Part of the problem is that as long as other states do the same thing, were going to continue to have a problem,” Bradley said.

Small- and medium-sized businesses that can’t afford to leave the state will get some tax relief in the package, said Harris and Bradley.

All businesses could claim up to $100,000 in a tax credits if expenses outstrip revenue during a tax year, something known as net operating losses, under the current plan.

The previous plan would have reinstated the net operating tax credits at a cost of $275 million annually.

The ability to claim net operating loss credits was suspended temporarily at the same time the income tax was increased to help the state deal with its troubled finances. Claiming net operating losses of no more than $100,000 means a lot more to a mom-and-pop business on Main Street than a conglomeration worth millions of dollars, Harris said.

Organizations that represent businesses of all stripes that questioned the intention of the previous legislation now support its current incarnation.

Both the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the largest businesses lobbying group in the state, and the Illinois Manufacturing Association, which represents manufacturing businesses, testified for the current plan Monday because of its tax breaks for small businesses.

They were especially supportive of the move to extend a research and development tax credit for another five years.

Beyond businesses, there’s an attempt to offer some tax relief to individuals whose personal income taxes jumped by 66 percent in January.

The state’s earned income tax credit for low- to moderate-income families would go from 5 percent of federal earned income tax credit to 7.5 percent under the plan. That translates into a maximum tax credit of $283 to $424.50.

This would cost the state about $55 million every year, said Bradley.

The original measure tripled the state’s earned income tax credit at a cost of $112 million, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Additionally, the standard tax deduction for individuals would go from $2,000 to $2,050.

David Vaught, director of Gov. Pat Quinn’s Office of Management and Budget, said Quinn supports the spirit of the measure, but he wants more tax relief for individual taxpayers before signing any legislation.

Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News

Mayor Rahm Emanuel

(CHICAGO) – The CTA now has a new message for riders: smile for the cameras.

In an early Christmas present to CTA riders, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Transit Authority President Forrest Claypool and Chicago Police Department Superintendent Garry McCarthy today announced that the project to install new security cameras at ‘L’ stops across the city has been completed six weeks ahead of schedule.

Nearly 1,800 additional cameras have been installed at 78 CTA rail stations during a fast-track initiative that was announced in June, according to Emanuel.

“The cameras have caught criminals but also serve as a deterrent, helping to ensure the highest level of security for our transit system,” said the Mayor, who spoke at the Clinton Green/Pink Line station, where police recently used footage from newly installed station cameras to identify, arrest and charge an offender responsible for attacking and robbing a woman of her purse in an elevator a block away from the station.

Emanuel has a 1990s Clintonesque penchant for the “real people” backdrops, even crime scenes.

In the last five months, CTA surveillance cameras have helped police arrest of at least 47 individuals for crimes. Of these arrests, at least 16 individuals have been identified for serial crimes committed on CTA property.

“These new cameras have been instrumental in helping to solve a number of crimes since we began installing them in June – including three murders that took place away from CTA property as well as a string of serial robberies, one involving a shotgun that happened on CTA property,” Claypool said.

“Shotgun robbery” on CTA property? If Claypool continues to report that type of news, riders may just abandon the CTA to gang bangers and their buddies.

Since June, the Chicago Police Department’s Public Transit Unit has arrested 123 individuals and issued nearly 300 citations for minor offenses and 316 contact cards.

Audubon Elementary School principal John Price and other principals will need to achieve new performance metrics. (file photo)

(CHICAGO) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced new principal performance metrics and $20,000 award incentives for Chicago public and charter schools.

“We need empowered principals, quality teachers and involved parents, and all must be accountable for our students’ success,” said Mayor Emanuel.

Elementary school principals will be evaluated based on growth in reading and math, improvement in college readiness and their effectiveness in closing the achievement gap. For high schools, principals will be evaluated based on growth in ninth grade achievement with an emphasis on measuring students’ ability to meet college readiness benchmarks in reading and math, 10^th and 11^th grade academic growth, and improvement toward graduating students by lowering dropout rates.

“Principals set the core vision and values at work in their schools, and their leadership can transform the school community of teachers, parents and students to drive student academic success,” said Noemi Donoso, CPS Chief Education Officer.

Principals will get $20,000 by significantly boosting student academic achievement. The awards are unrelated to the district’s contract with principals and funded through third-party sponsors to support this project.

The CTA is introducing 706 new train cars.

(CHICAGO) – The CTA yesterday rolled out 706 new train cars costing $1.137 billion. The first of these new rail cars are entering revenue service on the Pink Line, marking the first time there has been an addition to the rail fleet since 1992.

“The CTA remains the primary mode of transportation for many residents of Chicago, and these new rail cars reflect the Agency’s commitment to its customers and to our city,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The addition of these new cars to the fleet will allow CTA to retire some of its oldest cars which average between 32 and 41 years old.

“These cars have wider aisles and roomier interiors, electronic destination signs and security cameras in each car for enhanced safety,” said CTA President Forrest Claypool.

The rail cars feature an aisle-facing seating configuration which adds six inches to the narrowest portion of the aisle, allowing more room for customers carrying backpacks, packages, luggage, strollers and bikes.  The aisle-facing seating also provides space for an additional wheelchair position, increasing the total to two per car.

Additionally, the cars also have LED displays with larger text-size that will replace the scrolling destination signs on the exterior of the lead car.  The LED signs on the interior will display the next stop, date and time. Above the doors, there is a system map with LED lights that indicates the train’s present location as it travels along the route.

Each rail car has multiple security cameras and will eventually transmit real time video to CTA’s Control Center, the Office of Emergency Management and Communication and the Chicago Police Department.

The $1.137 billion cost is funded by two CTA bond issuances backed by sales tax receipts. The remainder is paid for by $150 million in federal funds.

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.

Cook County sheriffs patrol unincorporated Cook County. Preckwinkle wants residents to pay for the service.

(CHICAGO) – After running into a political buzz-saw, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today announced the formation of a 13-member taskforce to examine costs of services, such as Cook County Sheriff patrols, provided to unincorporated Cook County.

“Residents throughout the County have reached out to both me and their Commissioners to let us know that the current way services are provided to unincorporated areas is either inequitable or inefficient,” said Preckwinkle.

The translation: voters were pissed and complained.

The taskforce will include non-profit, civic and community leaders from throughout the County and will report back in 120 days on its recommendations to deliver services in unincorporated Cook County.  Civic organizations such as the Civic Federation, Metropolitan Planning Council, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Metropolitan Mayors’ Caucus will support Preckwinkle’s panel.

“I believe a proposal as dramatic as this one clearly needs to be planned out,” Schneider said County Commissioner Tim Schneider (R-15th).

Preckwinkle will offset the costs of those services in the FY2012 Budget by allocating an additional $5 million from the Motor Fuel Tax Bonds to better reflect the timing of debt service payments.

Preckwinkle wants to end the subsidy for police services for only 2% of the County’s population that live in unincorporated Cook paid for by the remaining 98% of residents.

The task force will present its plan by March 1, 2012.

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 95^th 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.