Fund transit with more pay-as-you-use

It is a crying shame that our state and local legislators feel the only way to bail out mass transit in the six collar counties and the city of Chicago is to do it through the use of gambling casinos.

There are no guarantees this will work and it is a nonsensical solution to a critical problem. We can do better.

It is also unfair to continue to subsidize public transportation on the backs of motorists who continue to pay exorbitant gasoline prices and taxes in addition to paying tolls in the Chicago area.

Downstate Illinois residents and businesses will always squawk about bailing out any programs that have to do with transportation or education in the Chicago area, and perhaps rightfully so. But they get a benefit, free use of the interstate system, something we pay for around here.

Another solution would be to raise current tolls a nickel to assist mass transit, but that's not enough.

Maybe it's time to change our thinking and put the whole interstate system on a pay-as-you-use-it system. I-57, I-55, I-24, I-74, I-80, and I-70 should all be part of a program that pays for road maintenance and construction throughout the state.

Most importantly, mass transit could receive a more reliable source of funding and be subsidized through toll collections instead of money funneled through a slot machine.

The electronics of I-Pass have proven worthy and a reliable source of collecting funds for our roads and transportation needs. Let's make it statewide on all expressways and get the permanent solution that mass transit deserves.

Gary Lichthardt

Elgin