Mayors' council fearful of loss of state, federal transportation funds
The Kane/Kendall Council of Mayors echoed a concern Tuesday that was previously voiced by Kane County's Division of Transportation about vanishing transportation dollars caused by federal lawmakers failing to act.
The current federal transportation bill expired Sept. 30. At least in theory, $290 million of transportation funds for Illinois expired along with it. The House and Senate are battling over a three-month extension versus an 18-month extension. Congress would like to increase transportation funding, but has not found the revenue mechanism to make it work. Meanwhile, Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke said any federal transportation dollars not already spent are in danger. Schielke is the chairman of the council of mayors.
"The feds are saying, 'If you missed the boat, you missed the boat,' " Schielke said.
Estimates by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning suggest there is about $25 million in federal highway dollars Illinois was allocated, but hasn't spent yet that might be going back to the federal government.
CMAP has a particular interest in the loss of those funds because it is already struggling to stay alive at a state level. Illinois has yet to provide any funding for CMAP. The planning agency is the receiver for much of the region's federal transportation dollars, which it then allocates out to the local agencies. CMAP needs about $2.5 million to stay afloat.
Schielke also called on Gov. Pat Quinn to find the money in the state's capital bill to ensure the region has the proper receiving agency setup to handle federal transportation dollars if and when they come in.
"If we don't have this organization to receive the funds, we're really jeopardizing the whole region," Schielke said. "If this doesn't get resolved in the next six months, we're going to be in a real crisis mode. This is ridiculous here. This is insanity."
Montgomery Village President Marilyn Michelini said if the state has a problem with the way CMAP does business, it needs to say so right away.
"They all agree that CMAP does a fantastic job, but the funding is not forthcoming," she said. "There's no excuse."