Lisa Madigan Again Opposes Toll-Tax Rollback

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The office of Ill. Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) again is asking Judge Rita M. Novak of the Circuit Court of Cook County to grant Madigan’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that would roll back the toll-tax increase that went in to effect on January 1st.
The suit, brought by Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United of America (TUA), one of the largest taxpayer organizations in America, also asked the court to declare that the Tollway Authority is required by law to convert all toll highways to freeways and to dissolve itself. Madigan is opposing that also, even though that’s what it states in the Ill. statute.
“The Tollway likes to brag about how efficient it is on a cost per mile basis,” said Tobin. “But if you calculate the true cost – by including Tollway payroll – it comes to $397,003 per tollway mile, and this doesn’t even include the gold-plated pensions of the employees and bureaucrats. Instead of paying-off the original Tollway bonds, the greedy politicians at the Tollway keep issuing more bonds. This process will not stop until the people say NO!”
“The original bonds, in the amount of $400 million, were paid-off years ago,” said Tobin. “Yet as of December 31, 2010, the Tollway had over FOUR BILLION DOLLARS ($4,066,675,000) in Illinois State Toll Highway Revenue Bonds outstanding. Furthermore, on August 25, 2011, the Tollway adopted a 15 year $12 Billion Capital Plan, thereby assuring its continued existence until at least 2026. What happened to ‘Toll Free in 73’?”
“Can Lisa Madigan in good faith claim that any of the $4 billion in outstanding bonds is being used to build the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), the Northwest Tollway (I-90), or the East-West Tollway (I-88)?  These were the first three tollways and each of them should now be freeways.”
“The next court date, June 19, 2012, would be the time for Madigan to tell Judge Novak that she is withdrawing her motion to dismiss. The case is set for a status hearing at 10:00a.m. in Room 2402 of the Richard J. Daley Center. Will Lisa Madigan do the right thing?  Don’t bet the farm on that.”