“Today’s
release of the Illinois Auditor General’s report on mass transit
agencies’ performance underscores the need for transparency and
accountability to go hand in hand with better funding.
Anyone who relies on transit doesn’t need to read the Auditor General’s
report to know our transit system is inefficient and fails to keep pace with
the growing needs of its riders. However, the Auditor General’s report
does help demonstrate that the answer isn’t just ‘more money.’ There is
also a need for significant reform if we are to restore a world-class
transit system that benefits the citizens and the economy of the entire
region.
The report released today can guide state lawmakers on what they can do
to improve Northeastern Illinois’ transit systems. In doing so, there
are three clear issues lawmakers must wrestle with.
First, part and parcel with any improvement in transit funds, we must
ensure transit agencies are accountable and transparent to the public.
Second, transit must be efficient, both in its internal management and
with the dollars it spends. Different layers of transit bureaucracy
must be eliminated.
Finally, transit needs to be adequately and reliably funded. The
auditor general’s report highlights the need for new funding to improve
and repair our transit system. Accountability and funding are
complements, not substitutes, for one another. They must go hand in
hand.
There is an exciting opportunity to achieve these goals this year.
Lawmakers should avoid mistakes made in the past. Transit funding must
be diversified and dedicated so that transit systems can plan on
meeting operating expenses and can issue low-cost bonds for capital
projects. Sharing the responsibility equitably is necessary to ensure a
world-class system that benefits all parts of our region.
With these three principles guiding the debate, 2007 could be the year
state lawmakers fix transit shortfalls for decades to come. Better
transit systems will mean less congestion on our roads that will save
Illinoisans millions in waste on extra gas and time stuck in traffic.
We can’t afford not to improve accountability and funding”
