Good afternoon, Chicago ✶
The clock is ticking for state lawmakers to find more than $700 million for CTA, Metra, Pace and the Regional Transportation Authority before they run out of federal COVID-19 grants next year and resort to drastic cuts in service.
Lawmakers are focusing on reform as they consider two bills to either merge the agencies or empower the RTA. But they rarely talk about immediate funding solutions.
Time is running out, though. Transit bosses say a funding solution must be figured out by the end of the spring legislative session.
In today’s newsletter: David Struett and George Wiebe break down transit funding solutions under consideration.
Plus: Gay Chicago firefighters — on TV and in real life — share their experiences, a look at adoption day for some lucky pets and more news you need to know. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
TODAY’S TOP STORY
With Chicago’s mass transit system on the fiscal precipice, what solutions are on the table?
Reporting by David Struett and George Wiebe
Reallocating money: Moving money from the state budget would be a quick stopgap solution — but this is politically challenging. Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget includes no new money for transit. “Sadly, public transit is not the only thing looking for money in the state budget,” said Kate Lowe, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Using ‘flex funds’: One of the quickest ways to find money may be to redirect the state’s federal highway funds to public transit in a process called “flexing.” Most states shift very little federal money to transit. Illinois has shifted around 2%, far behind New Jersey and California, which shift between 10% and 15%.
New funding model: Lawmakers are also considering a “road usage charge” that taxes drivers by the number of miles they drive. It’s billed as a replacement for the motor fuel tax — which has seen dwindling returns as more electric vehicles and fuel-efficient cars hit the road.
Expanding sales tax: A potential long-term solution would involve expanding the sales tax to also cover services, though any change to the sales tax would come long after the fiscal cliff.
Hiking fares: The RTA has suggested raising fares 10% across the board, netting $50 million in annual funding. That only covers part of the budget gap. Raising fares could hurt some of the people who rely on transit the most and lead to lower ridership and less revenue overall.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- Remembering Thomas Moser: A Chicago-born craftsman, Mr. Moser gave up being a college professor to pursue a dream, becoming a renowned furniture-maker. He died March 5 at age 90.
- 50 years ago: On March 29, 1973, the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam, bringing America’s direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War to an end. Chicago-area veterans commemorated this weighty anniversary with emotional ceremonies over the weekend.
- Hard Rock Cafe closes: The restaurant shut its doors for good Saturday, after 40 years as one of Chicago’s go-to tourist destinations — but its owners did not provide a reason for the closure.
- Hail of a game: How the Rate Field grounds crew salvaged the infield diamond when some intense weather halted the Angels-White Sox game Sunday.
- 3.5 stars for ‘Sunny Afternoon’: The jukebox musical charts the Kinks’ path to rock stardom with a talented cast delivering the band’s greatest hits, writes Catey Sullivan in a review for the Sun-Times.
CHICAGO STORIES 🗞️
Gay Chicago firefighters, on TV and in real life, focus on their jobs
Column by Neil Steinberg
Character development: Darren Ritter didn’t know he was gay when he joined Firehouse 51 in 2018. “My character was only going to be around for a few episodes, so I don’t think there was a lot of thought put into who [he] was,” said Daniel Kyri, 30, the actor who plays Ritter on NBC’s “Chicago Fire.” “I just played the character as I saw him. I wasn’t throwing out rainbows.”
Real-life story: Lt. Paul Clark certainly knew he was gay when he started as an actual Chicago firefighter in 1997. Like Ritter, Clark played it low-key. “I just, consciously or subconsciously, decided to let guys figure it out on their own and see how they react,” said Clark, 59.
Point of view: Firehouses are not known as monuments to tolerance. How did Clark’s colleagues accept him?
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Pets find new homes at joint adoption event held by city, local shelters
Reporting by Violet Miller
On Saturday, Margie Neighbors and her husband, Fleet, went to Rescue Together, a collaborative dog and cat adoption event held in Lincoln Park, organized by Chicago Animal Care and Control and PAWS Chicago.
As soon as Butterscotch, a brown Yorkie, ran circles around Fleet and nuzzled up to his beard, they knew she was the one. It was the exact same thing their last Yorkie, Lily, had done — Margie called it “fate.”
“We didn’t expect to fall in love with the first dog we visited,” Margie said while holding Butterscotch, who in turn was holding a blue rope toy she couldn’t part with. “But she did it.”
The adoption event ran over the weekend at more than five shelters in the city, pairing animal lovers with their next pet and waiving fees.
And it wasn’t just dogs that got a new home.
Tom Haes, on Saturday, fell for a 4-year-old cat named Felix, who had been found jumping between the tops of trucks before she landed on top of a Chicago Animal Care and Control van.
“She was sweet and came right up to me,” Haes said. “I had a good feeling about her. … [And] I just missed that companionship. It’s just different having that little friend around.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Should MLB allow torpedo bats? Tell us why or why not.
Email us (please include your first and last name). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!
Thanks for reading the Sun-Times Afternoon Edition.
Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Satchel Price
Copy editor: Angie Myers