Picture this: it's the middle of winter, the economy is struggling, the housing market remains fragile, and unemployment in Chicago is above 10%. I know what will help: let's cut service to the CTA! Yes, let's make it harder for people to move around and find new jobs, keep the one's they have, or stimulate the economy by actually going places! If you think that's a brilliant idea, you'll be happy to know that the CTA is planning to "curtail 119 bus routes and service on 7 rail lines" on February 7th, according to the NBC Chicago and the CTA.
Apparently this stems from a combination of decreased tax revenue, and failed negotiations between the CTA and it's unionized employees, who are refusing to make concessions on a pay increase for this year. CTA Tattler says the average CTA employee makes $74,000 a year, so I'm having a hard time feeling much sympathy here (and I'm normally pretty sympathetic towards unions). The bottom line is, this is bad for everyone: it's bad for ridership, it's bad for the CTA and it's bad for its employees, many of whom will be out of a job soon.
Photo Details: Nikon D50 with 24mm lens, 1/60th sec at f3.5, ISO800. I pulled this one out of my archives-- it's from December 2005.
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