Re-examine usage on Pace bus routes
The regional transportation groups are trying to figure out ways to fund the $770 million funding gap, perhaps by combining all the boards into one group. In reviewing the rider statistics for Pace bus by route, the average monthly ridership is posted by route, least to most, weekday and weekend.
In sampling just one route, Randall Rd/ 90 Interchange to Rosemont in October 2024, there were 179 riders on the weekday route. However, there were 918 trips for the route that ran from a half-hour to 1 hour per day or 51 times. That means the bus on that route was empty 80% of the time.
The full-sized busses cost $350,000 to $400,000 to buy and who knows how much to repair, hire drivers, and maintain the bus stops? Seems like we could, in the age of Uber, discontinue any route that doesn’t serve a minimum of 1,000 riders per month. Perhaps the shortfall would be reduced substantially. You can check out your local routes by accessing Pace Bus Ridership by Route | RTAMS. You will be surprised and may start calling them SPACE busses because they are empty. No more tax money for this wasted spending.
Michael Schier
Sleepy Hollow
Bad idea on Alcatraz
So why in the world would this president want to spend millions to reopen and refurbish Alcatraz? Did he see a movie that reminded him of its existence, or maybe someone mentioned it in conversation?
If this administration is trying to save money (not), why spend millions to renovate Alcatraz?
There are enough prisons in this country. Forget it, Trump. Wait until the next butterfly catches your eye then go for that.
Karen Schlabach
Glen Ellyn
Secretary of propaganda?
Karoline Leavitt said she would ignore reporters who list pronouns in their email signatures. Leavitt stated, “Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story.”
She stated back in February that The Associated Press was ignoring a truth by not referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
I find it ironic that someone so interested in the truth is the press secretary for a president who is a serial liar. Trump lost the election to Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. That is a truth that Trump, Leavitt and Pam Bondi will not admit. Why should we believe Leavitt if she cannot accept that fact?
Karoline Leavitt should look up the meaning of freedom of the press. She is sounding more like a propaganda minister than a press secretary.
William Traxler
Bartlett
Military parade idea
presents scary picture
When I was in college, I took a class in newspaper journalism. We were told that editors routinely hide controversial stories “inside, next to the crease and below the fold.” Having just read a Daily Herald story buried in just such a place concerning the proposal to have a military parade to include 6,000 soldiers, heavy armament and combat aircraft, I ask, does anyone find a problem with this idea?
We have been exposed to the worst dictators of the 20th and 21st centuries conducting such events. Picture Hitler before the Reichstag, Mussolini in Italy, the various Kims in North Korea, Saddam, Assad, the Ayatollah, all the past czars’, premiers, presidents, and on and on.
This is being presented to us as a celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, and, coincidentally the president’s birthday. Frankly, I’ve grown weary of national leaders strutting across a stage giving high fives, fist pumps and encouraging an audience to applaud their presence. We are better than self-aggrandizement.
God bless America on the Fourth of July, celebrate our heroic soldiers, Marines and sailors on Veterans Day, Memorial Day and every day they serve our country with honor.
Michael Dunne
Naperville
Don’t blame DOGE
The story published in May 10 Herald said that U.S. spending increased by $168 billion from the same period last year. Then, blaming the Trump DOGE effort has done little or nothing. That’s true. This is not his budget and spending. It was approved last year before October by Biden and the previous Congress. Daily Herald, please do a little research and try to be factual and honest.
Richard Francke
Bartlett
The oath is clear
I have two great-grandfathers that served in WWI. My paternal grandfather drove guide boats for landing waves in places like Okinawa, Iwo Jima and Tinian. My father was a Seabee in Vietnam. I’m a 10 year veteran, Navy Surface Warfare (no combat). I took an oath. My father, and grandfathers did the same. It’s very similar to the oath that every member of Congress takes. The president took it as well. I have a deep and abiding respect for that oath, the document we swore to protect, and the founding principles it was based on. Upholding that oath is not an option or something the president should need to consult with his lawyers over whether it’s something he needs to uphold or not. Your turn, Congress.
Roger Tucker
Mundelein