Transportation Bill Has DuPage Public Safety Fund Diversion Game Changer

DuPage has a public safety sales tax referendum on the ballot February 5th. It proposes a quarter of one cent sales tax increase to fund public safety staff and programs that are otherwise slated to be cut in the current DuPage County budget. Today’s transportation bill is a game changer if it’s passed with Governor Rod Blagojevich’s proposal for seniors riding public transit free. Notice that in the transportation bill the same amount, a quarter of a percentage point of sales tax, can be used by counties for public safety spending.

DuPage County Board Chair Bob Schillerstrom was serious about getting the sales tax money one way or another to stave off a dangerous fiscal, social and public safety disaster on Schillerstrom’s watch with the all-Republican DuPage County Board. While putting the sales tax increase in a county referendum with unknown prospects, he also put the same tax increase in the state transportation revenue bill. Schillerstrom took a second bite at the apple.

Comments 1

  1. Robert Jones wrote:

    I AM AGIANST THIS. THE GOV. WANTS TO GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY. THIS GUY HAS A CATCH IN EVERYTHING HE SAYS OR DOSE. TWO- FACED. HE HAS TO GO!

    -ROBERT JONES

    Posted 11 Jan 2008 at 7:09 pm

Trackbacks & Pingbacks 2

  1. From WurfWhile » Blog Archive » Mass Transit Funding Passes State Assembly - Senator Kotowski Press Release on 10 Jan 2008 at 11:32 pm

    […] flexibility for DuPage and the collar counties to spend half of the increase on public safety - more on that later. Governor Rod Blagojevich agreed to sign the bill, despite being against a sales tax increase, but […]

  2. From WurfWhile » Blog Archive » Illinois General Assembly Passes Transit Funding - DuPage And Collar Counties Get Extra Sales Tax on 17 Jan 2008 at 11:18 pm

    […] and Dan Cronin, the bill contained DuPage County Board Chair Robert Schillerstrom’s proposed additional quarter point of sales tax in the collar counties that can be used for public safety or t… [See the “Schillerstrom amendment”]. With the bill becoming law, it will be interesting […]

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