How will your Representative vote for Metra?

Everyone's talking about how it sucks that the Illinois legislature has not passed funding for Chicago's transit system. 39 bus routes cut, fares increased, 600 employees laid off. The Illlinois House will be getting together again on Friday, November 2, 2007 to vote on bill SB572, which gives funding to the CTA, Metra and Pace.

But what can we do? Email your Representative. All the Reps in Chicago voted in favor of bill SB572, so what good does it do to email your rep who is already gonna vote to pass the funding? The key is the Reps in suburban Chicago who did not vote for the bill the last time it came around in September.

In fact many Metra riders are shocked that their Rep didn't vote for the bill. We need those people to email their Reps and convince them to pass the funding. I looked up all 238 Metra stations and mapped out which district they are in and cross-referenced that against who represents that district and if he/she supported or opposed SB572 in the initial vote. The Elgin/Big Timber line was the most troublesome with seven Reps who opposed the bill.

I made a flyer that specifically targets that line. Feel free to download, email, print, distribute this flyer anyway you please. We need to get the word out, and have people in these districts email their Rep before the vote on Friday, November 2, 2007.