Subsidies are better for the Metra commuter rail line than for the city subways, which carry a more heavily minority ridership, says the class-action lawsuit against the State of Illinois, the RTA and the Metra. [Jennifer Fernicola, ChicagoNow]
Subsidies are better for the Metra commuter rail line than for the city subways, which carry a more heavily minority ridership, says the class-action lawsuit against the State of Illinois, the RTA and the Metra. [Jennifer Fernicola, ChicagoNow]
2 Comments
In California, the same sort of lawsuit was used in Los Angeles to put the bus system under the control of the court. The court signed off on a sham consent agreement that benefited the Los Angeles bus system at the expense of taxpayers whose opposition to funding meant that normal democracy would not produce a bus system funded at the level that politicians wanted.
Hypothetically, the Seventh Circuit views that type of shenanigan as unconstitutional, so it will be interesting to see what happens.
Given what consent orders have done all over the country to school systems, local governments, etc. it’s a shame that some court won’t decalre such things as unconstitutional under separation of powers–whether a gov’t. entity funds, how much it funds, or not should not be able to be over-ridden by a court order (just ask, for example, the people in the Kansas City school system).