Toure’ Grantham
“I think it’s also the federal government’s fault. They are not distributing funding in a manner that is suitable for all the states. And how they distribute funds to each, like for education, schools or road development, is at fault. I also think it’s the governor’s fault because he keeps saying he has different methods to help the situation.”
Menjiwei Latham
“I believe the CTA is so political that the only answer I can come up with is that probably both are responsible for the crisis. I believe that the CTA does not operate independent of City Hall and the mayor’s office. Because of that, they will be in crises until we get someone in City Hall who has the people’s interest at heart.”
Fambilikile Xhea Nozakhere
“From what I can see, the ‘doomsday scenario’ by the CTA is obviously at the fault of the lawmakers and the politicians. There is money there, but it’s being redirected to more negative directions. At the federal level, of course, we have this war on terror and the war in Iraq. That’s draining money at the top level. They ask for several billion dollars with no end in site. It is all based on manipulation, lies and falsehoods. So at the top you have money going to something that is endangering lives and enriching a few people at the top. Eventually, when you get down to the state level, the county level, and the city level, there is this big sucking sound of money coming out of local budgets all across the United States. So when you have billions going into trillions of dollars for the war, then the infrastructure within the country is going to fall apart. For instance, Louisiana and the breaking of the levees, the bridge falling apart in Minnesota – all of these are infrastructure. And what do lawmakers do? They raise taxes, and they start making these ‘doomsday scenario’ threats. So where are the services going to be cut? A lot is going to be cut in the poor neighborhoods. So what this is doing is keeping poor people as a permanent under-class, and attacking the middle class – all done through economic manipulations.”
Caron Grantham
“Well, I don’t know too much about the issue. I listen to radio station WVON and from what I understand, it seems that the federal government is more at fault. The funding that is needed for the CTA has not kept up with the price increases that CTA has done over the years, and that is passed on to the passengers. So that is my take on it. Basically, the funding that comes from the federal government and the state isn’t being disbursed properly. I don’t know if the CTA is fiscally responsible or not, but it seems to me they might need a little more help with their planning.”
Armel Pee
“I think it’s everybody. I think, somehow, the people are being manipulated and used as a pawn. It seems that they can solve this situation and are going to, but it’s a matter of when. With any quest to solve a task you must have cooperation with all the players. It’s good you’re asking the people so we get a chance to speak out. The [mainstream] newspapers are part of the problem. The papers serve the interest of the people who are not negotiating in good faith for the average everyday riders. The everyday riders – they don’t asked us. I blame the newspapers for not allowing this information to get to us in a timely fashion. And what do they mean by ‘doomsday’?
What’s with this scary fear-type thing, and saying they’re going up on fares. This is a class issue. If you don’t have the money you can’t pay for it. When the cost of the gasoline went up everybody had to pay for it. So, it’s a class issue, but the fact of the matter is, African Americans will be disproportionately affected more than the rest.”
Beverly Adams
“I think that it is all three of them. But I also think citizens need to speak up, and they need to really rally together and do something about this. The only people being effected are the poor and the middle-class. It’s just a situation where they are banning you, and to put you out of this area and put you out into the suburban areas totally. If you don’t have transportation you can’t get back to the city. And if you don’t have a good car and the money to keep your car up, you’re not going to have money to get in and out of the city. The main problem is that we need to look at who we put into these elected positions. After we do that, then we need to make sure they are doing what they said they were going to do. This hasn’t been done, so as a result this is what we get. But [the politicians] aren’t really concerned because the buses are for the poor, the middle-class and those who can afford it.”
