County Of DuPage

WHEATON, IL — DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom addressed the Illinois House Mass Transit Committee today and presented the RTA Principles the five Collar County Chairmen have agreed should guide any future restructuring or funding formulas.

“We are a world-class region, anchored by a world-class city, and no region can long survive as a business or tourist destination without corresponding world-class public transit,” Schillerstrom said in his opening statement. “But Illinois’ transportation future must be looked at as a comprehensive whole. Our infrastructure; our roads and bridges across the state need repair, replacement and improvement. We cannot proceed with an environment of roads vs. transit. We need both. We need a global vision and a clear direction that will build a system to relieve congestion now and build that world-class system for the future.”

Will County Executive Lawrence Walsh and Lake County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt also addressed the Committee and echoed Schillerstrom’s concerns about the need for greater region-wide coordination of planning, increased budget oversight of the service boards and system wide coordination.

The Collar County Chairs also stated in their RTA Principles that the dynamic population and job growth in the suburbs demands that the RTA address these significant changes. Long-term transit planning must include options for reverse commute, suburb-to –suburb commute and the increasing need for paratransit services for the disabled and the elderly.

The Collar County Chairs also were united in their support for a project evaluation process that is equitable, transparent and most importantly market driven. They believe the RTA should prioritize funding based on appropriate and pre-set evaluation criteria.

Any new funding formula must be based not only on current needs, but also accommodate future needs and growth. The Collar Counties also believe that any resolution of the CTA pension system must be done separately and should not impact funding of critical regional projects.

Mary Keating, Administrator of the DuPage County Community Development Department also addressed the Committee. She explained how the funding of paratransit has increasingly fallen upon local governments and how there is a real danger that limited funding could severely jeopardize mobility to the senior and disabled community.

“Ride DuPage provides mobility that traditional transit does not. Our ridership has doubled to over 9000 trips a month. But this success has put a strain on the budgets of funding organizations. We are heartened that the RTA Strategic Plan is addressing these mobility issues and we believe this is a significant step to increasing mobility throughout the region for all communities,” Ms. Keating said.

“Funding mass transit for this region must be a priority for the General Assembly. But a reevaluation of the powers of the RTA and the three service boards must also be undertaken if we are to develop a regional, market based system. The transit agencies and Illinois roads need operating and capital dollars; delays in addressing this issue will only have negative economic consequences for the entire region,” Schillerstrom concluded.