Peter Skosey, MPC vice president of external relations, testified before Rep. Julie Hamos' committee on October 9, 2007, to discuss transit funding options.
Mass transit in northeastern Illinois has traditionally been funded by the
state’s sales tax and transit fares. The proposal the Illinois legislature
has been debating during the 95th General Assembly allows a modest increase of
.25 percent, coupled with an increase in Chicago’s real estate transfer tax to
fund mass transit. Fifteen of the nation’s largest public transit systems rely
on a dedicated sales tax for their operations. New York and New Jersey employ
the real estate transfer tax to fund transit and have a sliding scale to protect
lower income home-buyers; the fee is only assessed on personal residences of $1
million or more. Despite this rational proposal, the debate about transit
investments remains stalled.
Download Peter Skosey's testimony about transit funding options presented to the Illinois House Mass
Transit Committee on Oct. 9, 2007.
Download MPC's Transit Funding Fact Sheet, a compendium of the most viable
options, recommended by various regional organizations.