RESOLUTION URGING THE ILLINOIS GOVERNOR TO RETRACT REDUCTIONS FOR UNIVERSITIES, PARKS & PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
WHEREAS, The extreme austerity budget that is proposed by the newly-elected governor of the State of Illinois will cause immediate and irreparable harm to the citizens of this city, the state's largest and most important economic engine; and
WHEREAS, The governor has proposed cutting public university spending by close to $400 million. This comes on the heels ofcpfrfes the University of Illinois Board of Trustees order for a tuition freeze to give Illinois families financial relief from the rising costs of higher education in order to attract high-achieving Illinois students who are leaving the state for less expensive alternatives; and
WHEREAS, The governor has further proposed a reduction of more than $105 million, or roughly 7% of the Chicago Transit Authority's operating budget that would reverse improvements that agency has made in recent years. It has already cost the CTA approximately $16 million for a plan implemented in late 2012 that added service on 48 bus routes and six rail lines, while eliminating service on 12 bus routes. The governor also proposes eliminating an $8.5 million annual appropriation for ADA paratransit for the disabled, a loss of more than $8.5 million; and ¦
WHEREAS, The governor has frozen the funds of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that places in jeopardy Chicago Park District planned renovations to the artificial turf fields and facilities at Columbus Park, facility renovations at Archer, Dvorak, Garfield, Hamilton, Douglas, Eckhart, Robichaux, Holstein and Harris Parks and the Lincoln Cultural Center plus an expansion of Walsh Park and construction of an indoor track and field facility at Gately Park; and
WHEREAS, While recognizing the deficit that looms over this budget, it is imperative that the governor and legislators do not impede essential services these funds provide Chicago's citizens and find othe...
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