The combination of current funding methods is not sufficient to fully maintain the existing transportation system, let alone keep pace with increased demands. Money is scarcer at every level of government, and critical sources of transportation funds are not keeping pace with needs.
State motor fuel taxes have not matched inflation, and have lagged increased highway use by 20 percent since 1990. Overall, state and local governments have increased their reliance on general sales, income and property taxes to fund transportation, because the traditional sources of funding are not keeping up with demand.
The State of Illinois has not dedicated funds to invest in infrastructure since Illinois FIRST expired in 2004. Approved by the governor and General Assembly in 1999, Illinois FIRST dedicated funds over five years to update infrastructure, including $6 billion for railways and roads. This commitment helped secure federal transportation funding that would have been unavailable without the state matching funds. As impressive as Illinois FIRST was, by June 2004, the funds were exhausted, and the state has limped along without a capital funding program for the past two years. Without a new source of revenue, the state does not have sufficient funds to maintain the existing system, much less pay for needed new service or match funding that Congress has authorized for many new projects.
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), passed by Congress last summer, included substantial increases in federal funding for Illinois public transportation, roads and bridges through 2009. Federal funding certainly helps, but it will not be enough to meet all of the region's transportation needs. In addition to providing general funding to maintain and rebuild roads and transit, SAFETEA-LU "earmarked" funding for a large number of specific projects. But SAFETEA-LU money is no guarantee that projects will ever be built. In many cases, projects authorized in SAFETEA-LU include no construction funding or only a small portion of the total project cost, leaving the state and local governments to raise funds to complete them.
In short, the Chicago region currently has insufficient state, federal and local funding to complete needed transportation system improvements, expand service, or launch federally authorized projects. New funding sources must be developed to guarantee a long-term, viable solution to funding our infrastructure needs.