RTA paid millions to lobby for tax

Pushing for a major tax increase is not cheap.

In fact, even failing at it can be very expensive.

Case-in-point: The region's transit officials have spent nearly $3 million on lobbying, reports and media blitzes to convince lawmakers a sales tax hike is needed to keep the buses and trains running.

The $400 million-plus in new extra taxes could prevent major fare hikes and service cuts at the CTA, Pace and Metra.

Still, after months of ads, community hearings and rallies, there is little agreement among top lawmakers on the proposal. State House members are expected to vote on the measure today.

But as wheelchair-bound para-transit riders crowd sweaty hearings about fare hikes and commuters stress over having fewer options, not many may realize the amount of money that goes into such a campaign.

"The bottom line is, if we get this passed it will be money well spent," said Robert Schillerstrom, DuPage County Board chairman and a supporter of the tax hikes.

Even the top good-government group in Illinois concedes such spending has become intricate to major policy pushes.

"In a perfect world different units of government would be able to talk to each other for free," says Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. "But it is more complicated than that. We are talking about big fiscal applications."

The Regional Transportation Authority, which is leading the push, spent about half of the $3 million on a lengthy report detailing the decaying state of the region's train lines and bus fleets. The report also put forward what Metra, Pace and the CTA could do with more cash and how the money could be raised through various tax increases.

The $1.6 million report took nearly a year to produce by an outside consulting firm.

The rest of the money has been spent on additional public relations and marketing firms to drum up media interest and support, as well as radio ads and a Web site to bring regular residents into the fold.

"Unfortunately, those things cost money," Schillerstrom said. "But they are needed."

Still, $3 million is a big price tag. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform has a history of convincing lawmakers to approve new ethics standards and disclosure rules aimed at ending or, at least, exposing corruption. The non-profit group's budget is about $500,000.

To get big money, however, an agency has to apparently spend big money, Canary says.

"It is an awful lot of money to be spending, but it is also an awful big issue," she said. "We rarely see a transit system teetering on the brink of collapse."

Transit supporters want to raise the collar county sales tax a half-cent and a quarter-cent in Cook County. That would mean an extra 50 cents in tax on $100 spent in the collar counties and 25 cents on the same bill in Cook County.

In the collar counties, half of the new tax dollars would go to Metra and Pace with the rest going to the counties for road or transit upgrades. The additional taxes in Cook County would go to Metra, Pace and the CTA.

The proposal also would give the RTA more power over the three agencies and provide for a considerable increase in Chicago's property transfer tax to fund the CTA's pension system.

Metra, CTA and Pace are collectively about $240 million in the red. Without new funding, officials say, the system will continue to shrink and cost more to users, pushing more people onto roads and leaving the disabled and elderly stranded.

So far, House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, is the only top lawmaker to back the proposal.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich pledges to veto the measure. He wants to fund transit through business taxes, which many lawmakers won't support.

Regardless of success, RTA officials say the reports, media outreach and ad campaigns were critical to their cause.

"The broad scope of our campaign has required expertise," said Diane Palmer, RTA spokeswoman.