Proportionality
and fairness has never been a big part of Illinois politics, and yesterday’s
joint press conference by Governor Quinn and Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood to announce $1.6 billion in new state borrowing to leverage federal
highway dollars for job creation in the state is no exception. Though the state’s
population is heavily concentrated in Chicago and its nearby suburbs, the City
of Chicago is getting only 5.8% of the money, and the collar county suburbs are
getting about 12.8% of the major projects, according to the list released by
IDOT at the press conference.
Why
the Chicago metropolitan area, with over 28% of the state’s population, is
getting only 18.6% of the money and the jobs remains a mystery. Why the mostly
Democratic City of Chicago, with 21% of the population, is getting only 5.8% of
the jobs and the money doled out by Democratic Governor Quinn’s administration remains
an even deeper, darker mystery. Maybe once the construction contracts are let, the
fog will clear and a check of campaign donor lists will reveal the truth about
all this government largesse.
