Chicago’s transit system has faced a growing financial and operational crisis, and this Veto Session Democratic leaders chose to step in with a rescue plan that, in the last hours before the vote, changed language to shift the financial burden onto rural and suburban communities.
Over the past year, Chicago’s transit agencies have been staring down a $770 million budget shortfall, possible service cuts that would have caused major delays, internal governance issues, and even the threat of major layoffs. It was a mess from top to bottom.
During spring session, the majority Democrats resorted to their normal “solution”—new tax increases. They proposed several new taxes, including a massive sales tax on services, that all proved unpopular all across our over-taxed state.
Finally, on the last day of session—around midnight—the Senate Democrats introduced bill language for a new online delivery tax (the so-called Amazon tax or pizza delivery tax). After facing bipartisan criticism, it passed with the minimum number of votes. The House Democrats, blindsided by this approach, did not call the bill before the end of spring session.
I’m sure you can guess what happened next? During Veto Session, Governor Pritzker and his Democratic allies stepped in and bailed out the city and its mayor, Brandon Johnson.
And they did it while everyone was literally asleep. This bill was pushed through at around 3 a.m., when residents and the media were not watching and able to respond.
Democrats passed sweeping legislation that helped Chicago but hurt everyone else. And perhaps no region gets hit harder than ours in the 37th District.
Downstate will lose $550 million every single year. Funds previously designated to repair our local roads, bridges, and similar infrastructure projects were taken from us to cover Chicago’s mistakes. That means lost jobs (especially union workers), construction projects, and economic development—all sent into Chicago.
On top of that, $80 million from the Road Fund was diverted to prop up Chicago’s failing transit system. Then came the worst part. Democrats approved a 45-cent toll increase per vehicle. And who gets hit the hardest? We do. The 37th District has some of the longest stretches of tollway in the state away from Chicago—meaning our families will pay more than anyone else.
As your local State Senator, I fought against these bills and voted no. Unfortunately, Democrats once again chose to take money out of the pockets of working families in Illinois to cover for the failures of Chicago politics.
To watch my remarks speaking out against this transit bill, check out the video included in this newsletter.