We don’t need One Central’s proposed transportation hub

SHARE We don’t need One Central’s proposed transportation hub
The massive One Central development — seen in an artist’s rendering — that’s proposed just west of Soldier Field would include several high-rise buildings with offices, residences, retail space and a hotel.

Backers of the proposed One Central project say the massive 34-acre development would better connect Soldier Field and the Museum Campus with the city. | Landmark Development

Landmark Development

The discussion about the proposed One Central development over the Metra tracks near Soldier Field fails to mention one obvious fact. Developers are trying to ram through a proposal which could not succeed on its own merits, by enticing us with something we don’t need.

The centerpiece of the proposed development has a distinguishing feature they feel will to help ensure passage, a “transportation hub” where Metra, Amtrak and CTA rail lines would converge in one large transportation terminal. They claim this will spur economic growth by providing easy access to public transportation.

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They neglect to mention that convenient access to transportation exists nearby. This transportation hub would be located at 15th Street. Metra currently has stations at 18th Street. and 12th Street. The CTA has a transit station for the Red, Orange and Green lines a couple of blocks away at Roosevelt Road and Wabash Avenue. Amtrak has a perfectly functioning station with a more centralized location than the proposed site.

In addition, CTA rail lines would have to be extended east to travel along 15th Street. Who would pay for construction costs? The CTA? CTA ridership has been declining for many years, and it’s hard to justify the massive cost of extending rail lines when ridership has been decreasing.

The developers have provided scarce specifics on the height of the buildings and their sources of financing. They’re quick to tout the economic benefits of this development, but it seems bizarre to come up with precise figures of economic benefit when they don’t even know the size of the buildings.

Developers seem to be in a rush to get this approved, and whenever someone is in a hurry to get something approved, it’s because they don’t believe it could otherwise pass the smell test. Impulsive decisions generally yield poor results.

David Cizmar, Near South Side

Greater need

In all the hard-sell rhetoric for a constitutional amendment for a “graduated income tax,” never mentioned is the even greater need for amendments to “graduate” the budget-busting pension rights of government employees, and to make it finally possible for taxpayers to enforce the annually disregarded balanced budget requirement of the state Constitution [Art.VIII, Section 2(b) ].

If there are no reforms, there should be no blank-check graduated income tax. The existing flat tax already results in the “rich” paying more in taxes than the not-so-rich and the poor. Do the math.

Dan Biss’s op-ed on Friday, “Graduated income tax would give working families a fair shake,” is a pure con job unless all tax rates on lower incomes are “fairly” proportionally reduced at the same time they are raised on higher incomes. Does anyone who is not high on recreational pot honestly believe this will ever happen ?

Herb Caplan, Lake View

Reduce spending

All of the current focus these days is on changes to the state of Illinois’ income tax structure. While a graduated income tax as proposed seems to be a more equitable approach, the state also needs to focus on reducing spending.

The state has been aware for many years of the current and future strain on budgets being created by defined-benefit pension plans.  For many years now, nearly all private companies have entirely moved away from defined-benefit pension plans funded by employers, to defined contribution plans (such as 401Ks).

We must stop continuing to dig bigger spending holes when it comes to state employee pensions. Our future spending needs to be addressed at the same time (if not before) taxes are reformed/increased.

Ray Nelson, Park Ridge


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