"You've Caught the NET!"

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!

Hey, you dogs! 

You know, getting around Chicago, I try to take Public Transportation as much as I can.  Often times, however, riding the Chicago Transit Authority Buses or El Trains, I have to disguise my self as a human - they have a "No Dogs Allowed" policy, service dogs excepted.

But with the new drumbeat of CTA Service Cuts, amidst a major Operating Deficit, I am quite concerned many CTA Commuters here in Chicago might be under served, and many might resort to driving instead!

According to CTA Management, it's the Labor Unions leading the way to service reductions this time.  As reported in the Chicago Tribune by Transportation Reporter Jon Hilkevitch, management asked the Transit Workers Union to give back a recently-granted 3.5% pay raise this year.  If they agreed to the give-back, employee layoffs would be reduced, and service cuts not instituted.

But the union refused to return their pay increases.  As a result, runs will be reduced on 119 bus routes, 41 bus routes will have shorter service hours, and nine express bus routes will be cut. Trains will also run less frequently on seven of eight CTA El Lines.

Further, the transit agency will take 287 of the fleet's estimated 2,000 buses out of service.  Nearly 60% of all CTA Rides are done on buses each business day.

Last Wednesday, Transit Union Leadership reacted with anger to management's proposal for the raise rollback.  They contend management is bloated with bureaucracy, and the budget can be trimmed by eliminating unnecessary management jobs.

If CTA Management prevails, however, over 1,000 union and 100 non-union CTA Workers stand to lose their jobs, as the Transit Agency seeks to close a $300 Million Budget Shortfall.

To bridge the budget gap, instituting layoffs and service cuts could save the CTA an estimated $95.6 Million.  Freezing salaries and increasing furlough days for non-union CTA Employees will trim another $32 Million.  In  addition, $90 Million in funds for capital improvement projects would be shifted to the Operating Budget - not the best option, since many needed repairs could be deferred under this scenario.

Increasing CTA Fares, to as high as $3.00 per ride, as some proposed earlier in 2009, would have netted the agency another $83 Million.  However, such a plan to increase fares met resistance from IL Governor Pat Quinn.  The Governor last year brokered a deal with the area Regional Transportation Authority to help it to issue revenue bonds, with the State of Illinois paying off much of the cost of servicing the debt, in return for a promise of no CTA Fare Increase for at least two years.

Should the Transit Union eventually change its mind and agree to rescinding their raise - the first raise in four years - CTA Chairman Terry Peterson said any service cuts could be quickly reinstated.

However, some business leaders the CTA would still under serve many commuting Chicagoans, especially those on the Far South Side of Chicago.  One South Side Business Leader says the latest round of cuts would disproportionately reduce service by as much as 30% in the area of Chicago south of 95th Street.

One of the main sources of lost CTA Revenue over the past couple of years has been its state-mandated "Free Rides for Seniors" Program.  Instituted in 2008 as part of a compromise on a Chicago-Area Sales Tax Increase imposed by then IL Governor Rod Blagojevich, the Free Rides program cost the CTA an estimated $60 Million in 2009.  During the first 11 months of the year, 68 Million Free Rides were offered to those over the age of 65 - an increase of 16.8 Million Free Rides versus 2008.

To me, as a dog - all this seems like one big political ploy.  The old game of , "Whose Ox Gets Gored."

In the end, however, it seems like it will be those "Just Plain Folk" - Chicago Commuters - who might get the biggest end of the shaft here.

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,

BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO