Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Tuesday, December 10
CBS 2's headline says it all: "CTA Saved, Schools Cut." The station is reporting that, in a last minute deal, the governor and various leaders of the state legislature have crafted a way to bail out the CTA. Nevertheless, it's an arrangement that requires sacrifices elsewhere, including the Illinois public schools budget request. And, although they don't have the numbers to do much, Republicans are apparently unhappy about some aspects of the deal, including the impact it will have on state pension plans. Given that the RTA funding formulas apparently go unchanged, transit will no doubt rear its head next year. For now, though, the much-touted "doomsday scenario" seems to have been averted.