After being a Democrat for 40 years, I’m done voting for them. Our state’s Democrats just voted to increase taxes on fuel, tolls, and other driving-related costs to fund the CTA. How about raising the price of the CTA to fund the CTA? It’s not right to make those of us who don’t use it pay for it.

If you can’t afford to pay taxes here to help the city be a better place place then you should move. Simple.

What kind of short-sighted, brain dead take is this? Public transit is critical to economic growth and development, reducing congestion (and improving air quality), and overall making cities vibrant and safe places to live and visit. Even if you don’t use the el, you benefit from fewer cars on the road from those that do.

Transit literally carries our economy and makes our infrastructure systems more efficient. If you don’t want to pay for it, you’re welcome to move to a state where you’re chained to a high car payment and have to spend 45 minutes sitting alone in your car to and from work every morning. I’ve lived in such places (Texas) and you couldn’t triple my salary to make me go back. The el is one of the great things about our city and the new bill will help make much needed improvements.

My taxes go towards your roads and not only do I not have a car, I also rarely Uber anywhere.

Common taxes go towards road infrastructure at a higher proportion than they go to public transit.

So in fact, you as a car driver get more of our money than we do of yours.

Maybe try some more critical thinking.

“It’s not right to make those of us who don’t use it pay for it.” By your logic my property taxes should be prorated to fund only the services I use - I don’t have children in school so remove the part I pay for the schools. I don’t use the roads so remove the part I pay for road maintenance. I haven’t been to the library this year so defund the library. ???? This is part of living in a civilized society lmao

We all pay for things we don't use... Taxes aren't personal transactions, they're an investment in the greater good. It's a collective investment that allows businesses to thrive, communities to prosper, and a stable society. A healthy society depends on our willingness to invest beyond just ourselves.

You’re not alone. Democrats are leaving their party and registering as republicans everywhere. You’ve made the right choice. Now consider leaving Chicago, that place is an empty shell of what it used to be

I've said it once I'll say it again. Shut down the cta.

It’s easy to focus on what we directly use. But part of what keeps the city strong and competitive is exactly these kinds of shared investments (i.e. public goods), including the costs of maintaining and upgrading them. They’re what attract talent, employers, and innovation. Even if you don’t use a service personally, you benefit from living and doing business in a city that offers it. But if that's not something you can abide by, or if the benefits of living in the city no longer outweigh the costs for you, then you might be happier living somewhere else where there is less significant infrastructure.

Trump just passed a national sales tax, aka tariff. So how do you feel about that?

Under this idea shouldn't every road also be a toll road?

I pay taxes on thousands of miles of road I will never traverse, that sounds equally unfair. Shouldn't the drivers of those roads alone have to support their maintenance?

They are raising the costs of CTA fares. You ok with funding other countries bailouts?

Yep Illinois is known for driving it's producers out of the state. I left for a variety of reasons -- bad schools for kids, high taxes, but thing that pushed me over the edge was when they wanted to turn gun owners into felons for owning a certain kind of gun, that I was it, I packed up, moved to Tennessee and haven't looked back. What you are experiencing is pure communism, you get to pay other people's bills and subsidize them. Be the next person to take your talents out of Illinois and make a life elsewhere. And if you move to a red state, remember why you left and don't ever vote democrat again. Remember, it's only going to get worse as time goes on.

welcome to the common sense side!

This is why i dont waste my time voting... It doesn't matter what we think we're doing... At the end of the day they'll always look to their best interests and we pay for it every time... Think about it all the years of voting since you were old enough to vote what has really changed other than the cost of living which keeps going up and up and up and our pay stays the same... I say you work hard and you do what's best for you and yours nothing more nothing less...

Have some mercy here people. We are all struggling under high taxes with no end to their escalation. Every year they say my house is worth thousands more and jack my taxes up regardless of my income being stagnant. My house is currently assessed at 40K over market and I would have to prove to a board hearing it wasn't to get them off my back. Yes it is frustrating that government doesn't have to budget like the rest of us and continues to grow rather than to learn to live and make the best of it's already high price on those of us worn out from working like dogs to barely scrape by. The government should budget like families have to budget instead of taking on enormous debt and than making all of the future generations pay the interest without any benefit to improved infrastructure.

Keep the politics to the politics , you guys are like a infestation going around manipulating people to believe Republicans are good when there not I don't vote that's how bad this is maybe you should do some more critical thinking your a Manager speakin this way I hope your treating workers well you sound like your secretly not.

Chuy Garcia waited till the last possible minute to step down so his chief of staff could assume his place in congress without anyone getting to vote. While the controlling democrats in our state want to re-gerrymander the maps so the people have even less of a voice then we already have.

But sure, the republicans are the fascists.

One thing I learned everyone blaming democrats or republicans it is us the people who do most damage did you know we about hit inflation bad and the economy is falling fast who is in the White House republican is who control house republicans who control senate republicans this government shut down impact everything the people pay taxes has to cover the coat

Look I can't defend the Democrats I can't especially not California and Gavin newsom who wasted a bunch of taxpayer money with a bunch of money for building new housing projects for the unhoused and You saw almost nothing really come of that because most of it was wasted by his friends and illegitimate housing construction that never really accomplished anything...

The solution is to get better Democrats because if you raise the cost of public transportation to pay for it you will destroy the economy of California.

What government is supposed to do is take resources of people higher up and use those to support the bottom because If you raise taxes and costs on the people at the bottom those people can't buy things like they could which decreases the amount of jobs because the amount of velocity of money declines.

The money that the bottom of the income spectrums gets has the highest velocity of money because it goes to food it goes to extracurriculars which goes to paying wages which then goes to food and extracurriculars and it cycles around the economy like crazy.

You make the cost of living higher You increase homelessness you decrease the velocity of money which slows the economy down... I know I said give it a year If by the time the next election rolls around the economy isn't in the absolute toilet and there aren't mass layoffs and a massive stagflation depression, Then go ahead and do whatever you want.

However if I'm right count your lucky stars that California is a giver state and not a taker state because Republicans run most of the takers states they get more money from the federal government than they give to the federal government so I don't know why you want to support tax cuts and schools in Alabama and Mississippi with your federal tax dollars but don't want to support your local economy by paying taxes that helps people actually go to your business so that they don't lay you off and go for someone that they can pay 10 to $20,000 a year less.

And THAT is why I never buy gas in Illinois. That pig of a governor will not get my tax dollars if I can help it!