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March 2009 issue - Vol.9, No.6

Tranist Funding Graph
Both Madison and St. Clair County transit districts are receiving much more in state assistance as a result of the Chicago Transit Authority bailout bill that was passed in early 2008.


Game of hardball with Chicago pols results in big bucks for downstate transit
Southwestern Illinois Community College
Superior Waterproofing
St. Louis Regional Airport

Delta Dental of Illinois
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By Alan J. Ortbals

   Downstate transit districts are reaping a bonanza, thanks to the Chicago Transit Authority bailout bill that was passed early last year.
St. Clair County Transit District’s take from the Downstate Operating Assistance fund will nearly double from FY08’s figure, according to Bill Grogan, SCCTD managing director.Grogan says that in FY08, SCCTD received $17.7 million from the DOA fund. This fiscal year, he says he expects that number to jump to approximately $32 million.All of it is without an increase to taxpayers in Southwestern Illinois - and St. Clair County is not alone. State funding of mass transit had become a problem under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to Grogan. Transit districts were supposed to receive 55 percent [continue]
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Mortgage bankers, realtors say mortgage 'cramdown' will raise rates

By Kerry L. Smith

  A bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) that Congress passed as part of the economic stimulus package opens the door for bankruptcy judges to reset the terms of existing mortgages; industry execs say this will likely increase interest rates - and uncertainty - in the market.
   Senate Bill 61, initially introduced by Durbin two years ago but passed by Congress in February, allows bankruptcy judges to do the following, if the mortgage holder has first qualified for Chapter 13: 1) Lower the interest rate on the mortgage; 2) Extend the term of the mortgage; 3) Alter the principal of the mortgage, not lower than fair market value; or a combination of all [continue]

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Real Estate Sign
Mortgage bankers fear that inflation and trouble on the secondary mortgage market will be the result of a recent Congressional decision to allow bankruptcy judges to reset mortgage terms.

Billions invested in economic development incentives with little result, study says

 By Alan J. Ortbals

Over the past 15 years, the St. Louis metro area has invested more than $2.5 billion in economic development incentives through tax increment financing and other types of development districts. Most of that money has gone to support retail developments which have generated a small number of net new jobs paying low wages.
  These are the conclusions of a new report released by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments in January.
  The report, An Assessment of the Effectiveness and Fiscal Impacts of the Use of Local Development Incentives in the St. Louis Region, took more than a year to compile due to the poor recordkeeping of local and state governments, according to Les Sterman, executive director of the council.
   “This is all tax money that’s going to these incentives, and there is a required reporting arrangement so that the information should be kept in one place,” Sterman said. “The problem is that not everybody reports, there is no penalty for not reporting and a lot of the information isn’t accurate.”  [continue]