Vote no on the “transportation lockbox”
Illinois voters are being asked in the current election — early voting has started — to support or opposed a constitutional amendment that would restrict spending of certain revenue sources.
The amendment to the Illinois constitution says that revenues derived from transportation sources — gas and related taxes, license and registration fees, sales taxes for transit, airport fees — can only be used to fund transportation initiatives.
You may have seen ads on TV and online calling this the “Safer Roads Amendment” and because of the amendment the state will have more money to fix roads and bridges. You may have even read that an organization or two believes this will also mean more money for active transportation (walking, bicycling, and transit).
Having the amendment may lead to more money for transportation projects. It will not mean more money for active transportation.
The problem of how we prioritize projects in the state will remain imbalanced against building infrastructure for vulnerable road users, and build bad projects while good ones linger.
