The fourth in the series: Governor Blagojevich has proposed a $3.2 billion state capital package.
For years, neighboring communities have had to
compete with each other to attract the most tax dollars, often at the expense of
local quality of life, economic development, school excellence, personal and
social health, and basic needs like water and sewage. While some competition
among municipalities is healthy, it's become increasingly clear that any local
victories are fleeting; we're racing our neighbors to the bottom as long as we
allow our region to fragment and decay. Thankfully, Chicagoland has an historic
opportunity to unite and regain our competitive edge through the development of
a strong Regional Planning Board. The state legislature has given the board just
one year to develop a plan for success. This series, "Make or Break – Year One
of the Regional Planning Board," analyzes the issues the board must tackle in
the months ahead.
Faith-Based Planning: Will the governor’s
proposed capital package deliver?
Illinois
is long overdue for a new state
capital package to fund transportation and school construction. In early
January, Gov. Blagojevich’s announced a new effort to pass a $3.2 billion
bond program to fund a recently released list of transportation and school—and
now church—construction projects. Much of the recent press attention has focused
on the governor’s plan to use revenues from an expanded keno program to fund
school construction. But the keno debate masks the real story: legislators are
being pressured to spend the little money the state has—and some it doesn’t—out
of faith that the state will move forward on projects for their districts,
regardless of whether the complete list of projects adds up to a fast,
efficient, and safe transportation system.
While legislators debate whether they will support the
governor’s proposal, Chicago Metropolis 2020, the Chicagoland
Chamber of Commerce, and MPC – the Business Leaders for
Transportation co-leaders – are promoting a better process for creating a new state
capital package. Business Leaders for Transportation has long advocated for a new
state capital package to continue the good work begun with Illinois FIRST and
take advantage of the federal funding Illinois’ congressional delegation worked so
hard to secure. Business Leaders was instrumental in passing Illinois FIRST
(Fund for Infrastructure, Roads, Schools, and Transit) in 1999, the historic
state capital package in 1999 that provided $12 billion for projects, including
$6 billion for transportation improvements. Now, as part of its work to shape a
new state capital funding program, Business Leaders has released “Guiding
Principles for the Next State Capital Program.” The document calls upon the state to
adhere to four basic principles:
1. Use an accountable and
transparent
planning process
2. Invest in transit, roads and freight
3. Support the program with new revenue
4. Emphasize innovation
The governor and state legislature have the tools to
plan before they spend: Just last fall, they created the historic Regional
Planning Board. The board has been hard
at work crafting its action plan for the year. As part of its work plan, it will
have to decide how it wants to be involved in state capital plan packages. In
the words of Mayor Gerald Bennett, chair of the board, the Regional Planning
Board has the potential to be the “dreamworks” of planning bodies in the nation.
Certainly, the board has the potential to be the strong voice that we can trust
to satisfy our region’s hunger for a coordinated menu of healthy servings of
transit, plentiful housing options, refreshingly clean water, and fresh school
choices.
Click
here to read Business Leaders for Transportation’s “Guiding Principles
for the Next State Capital Program.”
Click
here to read “Frequently Asked Questions for Governor Rod R.
Blagojevich’s Proposed Capital Package,” prepared by Chicago Metropolis 2020 and
MPC.
Click
here to read the Metropolitan Planning Council’s “Transportation
Investment Criteria.”
Click
here to read about Illinois FIRST, the
state’s last capital package.
Click
here
to read the Regional Planning Board’s Action
Plan for 2006.
Click here
for the full “Make or
Break – Year One of the Regional Planning Board” series.