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        <title>RTA Press releases Feed</title>
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        <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/</link>
        <lastBuildDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:31:53 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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            <title>RTA’s TIC Temporarily Closed Due to Shut-Down of Water Supply</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/rta-s-tic-temporarily-closed-due-to-shut-down-of-water-supply.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[




The Regional Transportation Authority’s Travel Information Center (TIC) will be closed today, February 21, beginning at 8 p.m. and is expected to re-open on Wednesday, February 22 at 7 a.m., due to the building’s water supply being temporarily shut-down because of outside construction. Callers will be unable to reach the TIC Center at 836-7000 until it re-opens. Riders can continue to plan their trips using the RTA’s trip planner by visiting www.goroo.com.

]]></description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:00:27 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/rta-s-tic-temporarily-closed-due-to-shut-down-of-water-supply.html</guid>
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            <title>Transit Agencies Settle Class Action Suit</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/transit-agencies-settle-class-action-suit.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Pace have settled a class action lawsuit. The litigation stemmed from allegations of a failure to provide paratransit riders with services that were comparable to the region’s fixed-route services. The transit agencies deny the allegations and any wrongdoing and decided to settle the lawsuit rather than continue to incur legal fees if the case had gone to trial.
 
The suit was filed in November 2007 and was settled last month. Terms of the settlement include the disbursement of paratransit vouchers that are good for one free one-way trip each with a six-month expiration date. Notifications regarding claims will be mailed on February 14, 2012.  Approximately 77,700 paratransit riders in the region are eligible to receive at least two one-way vouchers. They needed to be paratransit certified between November 2, 2005 and January 31, 2012.  Approximately 150,000 vouchers will be disbursed among eligible paratransit riders that submit claim forms by March 30. Financial settlements among 15 plaintiffs range from $1,000 to $5,000 each.

Those with questions about paratransit voucher claims should call the Consumer Advocacy Center at 312-782-5808 or e-mail info@caclawyers.com (mailto:info@caclawyers.com).]]></description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:10:08 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/transit-agencies-settle-class-action-suit.html</guid>
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            <title>RTA Executive Director Joe Costello Responds To U.S. House Ways And Means Surface Transportation Bill</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/rta-executive-director-joe-costello-responds-to-u-s-house-ways-and-means-surface-transportation-bill.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Surface Transportation Authorization bill being considered by the U.S. House Ways and Means committee is financially perilous to the RTA system.  The House bill removes mass transit’s dedicated source of revenue and would put federal funding in jeopardy for the RTA system.  Public transportation relies on a dedicated funding source to plan for and invest in infrastructure and rolling stock.  The House is considering legislation that would put the RTA in a constant state of uncertainty.  We look forward to working with our Congressmen and Senators to ensure that any legislation that is sent to the President maintains a dedicated funding source and provides additional funding for state of good repair.]]></description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:48:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/rta-executive-director-joe-costello-responds-to-u-s-house-ways-and-means-surface-transportation-bill.html</guid>
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            <title>RTA Bond Rating Upgraded to AA</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/rta-bond-rating-upgraded-to-aa.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Fitch Ratings has upgraded the RTA’s long-term bond rating to AA with a negative outlook and reaffirmed its short-term bond rating at F1+ which is the highest rating Fitch Ratings awards. The rating placed the RTA among the most highly rated transit agencies in the country. A long-term rating in the double A category indicates the RTA’s fixed-rate bonds are solid investment grade securities. The short-term rating assigned to the Agency’s variable-rate bond is the highest possible placing RTA in the top tier of short-term issuers. This has been accomplished against a backdrop of serious state financial problems and an economy still recovering from a recession.
 
“The bond rating upgrade has the positive effect of strengthening our borrowing capability and helps with getting our bills paid more expediently,” said Joe Costello, RTA Executive Director. “While the economic outlook remains bleak, this favorable news puts our transit system on more solid financial footing,” he added.
 
Sales tax revenues have been affected by the economic downturn which has continued to adversely impact the available revenues that support our region’s transit system.
 
]]></description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:41:31 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/rta-bond-rating-upgraded-to-aa.html</guid>
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            <title>President Toni Preckwinkle Encourages Companies to Offer Pre-Tax Transit Benefits to Employees and Earn Incentives</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/president-toni-preckwinkle-encourages-companies-to-offer-pre-tax-transit-benefits-to-employees-and-earn-incentives.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presented checks to two local companies that have taken advantage of an incentive program that reduces the cost of public transportation for employees. The Transit Ridership Improvement Program (TRIP) is a short-term incentive program that provides hundreds, even thousands of dollars to companies that provide pre-tax transit benefits to their employees. TRIP is available to all Cook County employers until February 10th.

"Gas prices remain high, and there’s no sign of relief as the year progresses.  Public transportation is an affordable and convenient way for people to get where they need to go save money in the process,” said President Toni Preckwinkle.  “TRIP makes it even more cost-effective for people to travel by bus or train and we encourage employers and employees to sign up."

Normally, employees earn their income, are taxed, and then pay to ride transit to get to work.  With employers offering a pre-tax transit benefit program through TRIP, employees can lower their tax burden by hundreds of dollars per year, depending on their transit costs and tax bracket.  In addition to saving employees money increased transit use helps reduce congestion and improve air quality.

“We appreciate President Preckwinkle’s leadership to promote transit and publicize a special opportunity for employers to financially benefit by signing employees up for TRIP,” said Joe Costello, RTA Executive Director, who attended the press conference.  The RTA has engaged in legislative advocacy to encourage Congress to establish parity with the parking pre-tax benefit. TRIP benefits employers as well. Participating businesses will reduce their payroll taxes while providing a valuable benefits program to their employees. Between now and February 10, Cook County employers that join TRIP will receive direct payouts that can total hundreds of dollars. Participating employers will receive: •    $30 for any new employee who signs up for the pre-tax transit benefits.•    An additional $200 for companies that are introducing a pre-tax transit benefit program for the first time and enroll five of more employees. 

President Preckwinkle presented a check to General Growth Properties in the amount of $720 and to the law firm of Daley, Mohan and Groble in the amount of $980.  These are just two of the 180 companies that have taken advantage of the program so far.

“The Center for Neighborhood Technology and RTA answered our questions, walked us through the initial process, and supported us in offering our employees transit benefits,” said Kathi Roccanova, Daley, Mohan and Groble’s office manager. “Our employees love the tax savings and we love being able to offer them this monthly benefit.”

The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), which helps administer TRIP, provides one-on-one consultation with businesses interested in enrolling in the program, addresses company concerns, and walks through the initial steps in providing these low-cost, money-saving, employee benefits.

Companies and employees are encouraged to visit www.lesstaxingcommute.com to learn more about pre-tax transit benefits and TRIP.  Companies interested in providing these transportation benefits to their employees can email jdrew@cnt.org (mailto:jdrew@cnt.org) for more information.

Funding for TRIP is made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.  The Cook County Department of Environmental Control administers the program in coordination with CNT and RTA.]]></description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2012/president-toni-preckwinkle-encourages-companies-to-offer-pre-tax-transit-benefits-to-employees-and-earn-incentives.html</guid>
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            <title>Village of Channahon Continues Stonewalling Requests to Disclose Names of Companies Receiving Secret Tax Breaks</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/village-of-channahon-continues-stonewalling-requests-to-disclose-names-of-companies-receiving-secret-tax-breaks.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Village of Channahon filed new documents in Cook County Circuit Court last Friday, in which it refused to provide the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) with answers to questions about the nature of its tax avoidance schemes that have cost local governments across Illinois millions per year in lost revenues.  Attorneys for the village also asked that in the event Channahon is ordered to answer the RTA’s questions, including which businesses are benefiting from the schemes, that the information be put under a protective order so that the RTA cannot share it with the public.

“We continue to believe that the reason they don’t want this information shared with Illinois taxpayers is that it will demonstrate the truth of the allegations we have made about Channahon’s role in a widespread scheme to shortchange taxpayers in the six-county RTA region,” said RTA Executive Director Joe Costello.  “The village needs to stop playing legal games and instead provide a full accounting of who is benefitting from the expenditure of public tax dollars.  We believe in financial transparency at the RTA, and that should be the policy of any governmental unit.” 

The RTA recently adopted balanced 2012 budgets for the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace, but all three agencies face significant financial challenges in the coming year, including union contract negotiations and rising fuel costs.

The sales tax rebate agreements at issue were entered into by Channahon and tax consulting firms representing retailers who do business in jurisdictions where sales taxes are higher than the statewide 6.25% sales tax.  The agreements allow retailers to claim that their sales occur at sham offices in Channahon, which does not impose its own sales tax.  In exchange, Channahon takes only a small cut of its 1% share of the statewide sales tax, and rebates the rest to the consulting firm.  The consulting firm, in turn, takes a cut and then rebates an unknown, but likely significant, amount of the sales tax to participating retailers.  The result is that the retailers pocket most of the money themselves and avoid paying sales taxes to local governments that are providing services, including transportation services, to the retailers’ customers and employees.  Channahon benefits by reaping a tax windfall without having to provide any additional services.

“We want to make sure that the public has access to this information in the future.  That’s why we have been working with State Representative Carol Senate (D-Vernon Hills) on House Bill 3859, which would require municipalities and counties to publicly disclose all of the details of their tax rebate agreements—including the names of the retailers involved and the terms of each deal,” said Costello.

The RTA region includes Cook, DuPage, McHenry, Lake, Will and Kane counties and is served by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Pace and Metra.]]></description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:16:23 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/village-of-channahon-continues-stonewalling-requests-to-disclose-names-of-companies-receiving-secret-tax-breaks.html</guid>
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            <title>RTA Announces the Appointment of Two New Members to the Board</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/rta-announces-the-appointment-of-two-new-members-to-the-board.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) announced the appointment of Carole L. Brown and Samuel M. Mencoff as its newest board members. Brown and Mencoff will replace board members Dr. Horace E. Smith and Michael Rosenberg who represent the City of Chicago. Brown is the Managing Director at Barclays Capital, heading the firm’s Midwest municipal practice. She serves as the Senior Investment Banker for local municipal clients including the City of Chicago, the States of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana, the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Board of Education. Brown previously served as Chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Board from 2003 to 2009 and on the RTA Board from 2003 to 2008.

Mencoff is a founding partner and Co-CEO of Madison Dearborn Partners, one of the nation’s leading private equity investment firms, with over $18 billion of capital under management. He has been active in the private equity industry since 1981, where he joined First Chicago Venture Capital, a private equity portfolio of approximately $150 million at the time. Prior to co-founding Madison Dearborn Partners in 1992, Mr. Mencoff and his colleagues expanded First Chicago’s private equity portfolio, building First Chicago Venture Capital into one of the nation’s largest and most profitable bank-affiliated private equity investment firms.

“We welcome Ms. Brown and Mr. Mencoff to our board. Their professional experience and dedication to the community will serve our Board well,” said John S. Gates, Jr., RTA Board Chairman. 

Brown and Mencoff have a host of honors and recognitions. Brown currently serves on several boards, including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Rush University Medical Center, Metropolitan Planning Council, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Chicago High School for the Arts, The Auto Club Group and Auto Club Insurance Association. She was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’s 40 under 40 and was also named one of the 25 Women to Watch.

In 2005, Brown was named a Business Leader of Color by Chicago United and also one of the Top 50 Under 50 by Black MBA Magazine. In 2007, Brown was selected by Working Mother to receive the Legacy Award at its Chicago Multicultural Women's Town Hall.

Mencoff serves on the boards of a number of public and private companies and non-profit organizations, including Smurfit Kappa Group, Packaging Corporation of America, Boise Cascade Holdings, World Business Chicago, Mencoff serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee for the North Shore University Health System, as well as on the Board of Fellows of Brown University, and on the Board of Trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and the Economic Club of Chicago.

Brown is a native of Baltimore and a graduate of Harvard College. She came to Chicago in 1986 to attend Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where she received her Master’s in Management in 1989. Mencoff earned his BA from Brown University in 1978 and his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1981.

Brown and Mencoff are scheduled to attend the RTA Board meeting on Thursday, December 15.]]></description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:41:22 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/rta-announces-the-appointment-of-two-new-members-to-the-board.html</guid>
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            <title>RTA Board Approves 2012 Budget Totaling $3.9 Billion for Transit System</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/rta-board-approves-2012-budget-totaling-3-9-billion-for-transit-system.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[ The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Board of Directors adopted the 2012 budget at their monthly Board meeting today. A budget of $3.9 billion in operating expenses was approved for the RTA, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace.

“The ongoing economic recession has continued to adversely impact our transit funding for the last four years. Revenues generated from the RTA sales tax, our largest source of public funding, has been effected by reduced consumer spending,” said Joseph Costello, RTA Executive Director. “But despite the ongoing challenges, a fiscally responsible budget has been approved and this is the first time a budget has been approved that did not include the transfer of capital funds to operations, a method in the past that transferred nearly $750 million.” Last week, officials from the three service boards presented to the RTA’s Finance Committee on their 2012 budgets describing fiscal management strategies, priorities and challenges.

The RTA predicts next year’s forecast will offer little gain in sales tax or the Chicago Real Estate Transfer Tax and the recession has impacted the rate at which the State of Illinois has made payments to the RTA and most other state agencies. These delayed funds hinder the ability of the RTA system to meet its financial obligations.  The RTA plans to meet next year’s budget with continued cost savings measures, productivity improvements and long overdue Metra fare increases.

The $3.9 billion budget approved by the RTA board will authorize $2.5 billion for operations expenses for the following: the CTA, $1.24 billion; Metra, $686.6 million; Pace, $195 million and ADA paratransit, $126.6 million, and the RTA $35.2 million. Additionally, $1.4 billion was approved for capital expenses of which more than half, or $718 million will be spent on the purchase of new buses and rail cars. The remainder will be spent on other capital projects that will move the system toward a state of good repair.

The RTA Board also adopted a five-year capital program. Capital funding will be used largely for rolling stock renewal and other projects aimed at taking care of the existing system.  The transit system still needs significantly more funding for further maintenance, enhancement and expansion.  An RTA asset condition evaluation completed last year determined that the system has a 10-year capital need of $24.6 billion to achieve a state of good repair. 

The budget process included nearly 30 public hearings throughout the region.  To obtain a copy of the transit system’s 2012 budget, visit www.RTAchicago.com.
]]></description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:38:34 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/rta-board-approves-2012-budget-totaling-3-9-billion-for-transit-system.html</guid>
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            <title>STATEMENT BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ON PENDING COMMUTER BENEFITS EQUITY ACT</title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/statement-by-executive-director-on-pending-commuter-benefits-equity-act.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[ The Transit Benefit Program is about getting people to jobs and encouraging them to use public transit, by making sure that their hard earned dollars stretch further while being invested back into our local economy.  Since 2009, IRS regulation has allowed employers to offer a maximum $230 in a monthly tax-free transit benefit -- the same amount that is available for parking.  If Congress does not act, the transit benefit will drop to $125 a month at year’s end while the parking benefit will remain at $240 per month, a clear inequity that is not good for our cities.  I encourage all transit riders to reach out to Congress now! Visit www.commuterbenefitsworkforus.comto tell Congress it is not fair to provide drivers with a monthly tax free parking benefit that is greater than the benefit that public transit riders would receive.
Joe Costello
RTA Executive Director]]></description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/statement-by-executive-director-on-pending-commuter-benefits-equity-act.html</guid>
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            <title>Kankakee Continues to Deny Public Access to Tax Rebate Agreements </title>
            <link>http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/kankakee-continues-to-deny-public-access-to-tax-rebate-agreements.html</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The City of Kankakee has filed court documents refusing to provide the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) with the information necessary for it to determine the full extent of the tax avoidance schemes that have cost local governments across Illinois millions per year in lost revenue.  In court filings on November 23, Kankakee argued that it was not required to produce most of the documents requested by the RTA because to do so would be unduly burdensome and the requested documents are irrelevant.  “Kankakee is simply stalling for time by preposterously claiming that the tax rebate agreements at the center of the lawsuit are irrelevant,” said RTA Executive Director Joe Costello.  “We believe that the reason they don’t want this information shared with the public is that it will demonstrate the truth of the allegations we have made about the city’s role in aiding and abetting a scheme to shortchange taxpayers in the six-county RTA region.”In its objection filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Kankakee also requested that if compelled to produce the tax rebate agreements, the court should order the RTA not to share them with the public.  In addition to the tax rebate agreements, the city refused to produce: any documents that illustrate the amount of revenue Kankakee received through the rebate agreements; any correspondence it had with third parties promoting its tax sharing scam; a list of employees involved in administering the agreements; a list of the tax rebate consultants and the location and physical size of those consultants’ offices; and a list of the retail businesses operating from the various consultants’ offices.     Kankakee also refused to produce any board meeting notes or records that relate to the tax sharing agreements.  In response to a separate Freedom of Information Act request filed by the RTA earlier this year, Kankakee had previously denied that any such board meeting notes or records exist. Now, the city is arguing that it should not be forced to turn over the materials because it would be too much of a burden.  “Kankakee’s desire to stonewall the public is deplorable and its contradictory answers about the existence of documents that taxpayers have a right to see is alarming,” said Costello.  “We intend to work to force the disclosure of all of the requested documents and we will fight any attempts to hide the true nature of these schemes from the public. Without an open government, citizens cannot hold elected officials accountable for their actions.” The sales tax rebate agreements at issue are entered into by either Kankakee or Channahon with tax consulting firms representing businesses in jurisdictions where sales taxes are higher than the state sales tax.  The agreements allow such businesses to source their sales as occurring at sham storefront offices in those municipalities.  In exchange, those jurisdictions take a small cut of the sales tax and rebate the rest to a consulting firm.  The consulting firm, in turn, takes a cut and then rebates an unknown, but likely significant, amount of the sales tax to the businesses.  The result is that the businesses pocket most of the money themselves and avoid paying sales taxes to the local governments that are providing services, including transportation, to the businesses, their customers and employees in the place they are actually located. Kankakee and Channahon benefit by reaping a tax windfall without having to provide any additional services.To ensure that the public has access to these records in the future, State Representative Carol Senate (D-Vernon Hills) recently filed House Bill 3859, which would require municipalities to publicly disclose all of the details of their tax rebate agreements—including the names of retailers and the terms of each deal.View (images/stories/final_RTA_imgs/RTA%20filing.pdf) a  copy of the filing.]]></description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:18:59 GMT</pubDate>
            <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.rtachicago.org/press-releases-2011/kankakee-continues-to-deny-public-access-to-tax-rebate-agreements.html</guid>
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