Northwest Indiana Discussion

In the congressman's guest column today he states: "I believe one of these transformational investments is to improve and expand the South Shore Rail Line in this region.

"I consider this a generational imperative."

I, I, I, I, I, I...Not one mention of what WE, WE, WE, WE, WE the People of the First Congressional District believe. Visclosky comes on like the People are utterly subservient to his beliefs, desire or his will. This is a usurpation, a subversion of the representational authority governing our democratic processes.

When he finally does invoke his Principals, it is to lash them with his subjective and utterly self-serving criticism. "We have failed to fully integrate ourselves into the $500 billion economy and 4 million jobs offered by Chicago. We have been spectators as portions of the economy and jobs of the city-state of Chicago have found fertile ground north, west and south. We have failed to provide our own mechanisms to draw young professionals to Northwest Indiana."

We have failed? Why, because the People of the first congressional district chose, and continue to choose, not to pursue a course of development that necessarily entails an increase in population growth & density? Maybe we, the People of the First Congressional District of Indiana, PREFER the wide open spaces and room to encroaching RE developments; rooms with a view, instead of encumbering local tax dollars to further support a government subsidized commuter train in the cause of gentrified suburbanization.

Just cuz Pete's says it is so, doesnt make it so, nor does justify use of local economic development taxes to advance likely white flight.

"We have lacked initiative and therefore, we are fewer, poorer and older. Between 1970 and 2012, the population of Lake County fell by 9.6 percent, the median income decreased by 15.3 percent, and the median age increased by 43 percent. Why is this so?"

We have lacked initiative? Really? Because we have opted to keep things as they and for any expansion to remain dependent on necessity instead of induced by artifice and the opportunity costs of artificial demand? Visclosky forgets his place. He is elected to represent the People of the First District, not dictate to them.

"These trends are occurring because we have been unable to retain and attract young people in Northwest Indiana. Young professionals are choosing to live elsewhere, including Chicago and its environs in Illinois."

Really? Citizens are stampeding to Illinois? Lol. That'll be the day, given Illinois financial shortfalls and taxes. This is specious. And why is Pete so keen to circumvent another referendum vote on this?

We need to put Visclosky in his place. He is drunk with the arrogance of power.

Representative Visclosky has supported the South Shore expansion for the last twenty years and has been one of it's biggest advocates. Since the voters in the first district have voted to return Visclosky to Congress nine times over the last twenty years they must be pleased with his work. Don't you think it's kind of arrogant to claim your opinions represent the majority view?

He can speak for himself but his "claim" is supported by polling data and referendums across the First Congressional District. I understand Pete is a vegetarian. Arrogance would be Pete inviting me, a meat eater, to dinner at some swell place, insisting on ordering, he chooses vegan for me, some bubbly for himself, then leaves me with the check and on top of that, he tells me how much to tip! That is an allegory for this railroad expansion.

What are you jabbering about?

SouthShore Expansion Timeline

From NWI Times Jan 18, 2014

1989: Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission releases study identifying extending the South Shore as the best means of expanding mass transit in the region.

1991: General Assembly passes bill allowing South Shore to operate new rail lines that span only one county.

1991: Amtrak commuter service from Valparaiso to Chicago ends.

1996: U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky secures $500,000 appropriation for study of Lowell-to-Chicago South Shore service, now called the West Lake Corridor.

1998: NICTD hosts public hearing on the West Lake Corridor project for Lowell South Shore extension, which has an estimated price tag of $150 million.

2004: Communities throughout Lake and Porter counties agree to help fund a $550,000 study of extending the South Shore to both Valparaiso and Lowell.

Sept. 2005: Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. presses for including a Hammond "Gateway" regional bus and commuter rail station in any South Shore expansion plans.

Nov. 2009: Voter referendums to create a Regional Transportation District that could have aided in extending the South Shore are soundly defeated in Porter and St. Joseph Counties. The votes were called off in Lake and LaPorte counties.

July 2011: NICTD officials proposed building a first stage of the South Shore extension from Munster to Dyer.

Feb. 2013: Indiana General Assembly creates summer study committee to review membership and funding for the South Shore.

Sept. 2013: U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky calls on Indiana General Assembly to find a solution to funding the South Shore extension.

The further development of the SS is and continue to be flawed unless, as others have reintegrated, the Kengiston Station bottle neck, the Randolph street station's train storage is limited and currently full and then the power grid limitations.

The electrical service which powers the SS is limited to a specific number of SS train cars, able to drawing operating current in electrical power section at one time. Running more trains will bring down the grid as it was explained to me YEARS ago.

So lets just jump on board an build something the someone else will use, levying yet another tax on a population which will for the most part never use it.

Until these things are addressed, any expansion which occurs, may not be able to reach its final destination in dt Chicago.

The voter referendums the state mandated showed a lack of leadership by the state and were designed to fail. Most voters aren't going to approve an increase in their taxes for mass transit. Including St. Joseph and LaPorte counties in the "vote" made the plan even more ridiculous because the rail extension plans never included those communities. Access to mass transit has always fostered development in every community where it is built.

Considering the SS ridership fall off, and then adding to it the increasing trend to use remote net based work stations, where if you so choose, you could be sitting on a sun baked beach right now working on e-commerce, electronic collaboration in many industries.

To spend the hundred of millions of dollars on the SS, adding another value tax on to Lake County residents, well hell considering the corruption, Indiana specifically Lake County is beginning smell just like Crook County.

Restless? Can't get to sleep? Downed a Redbull and want to take the edge off? Watch the longer of these two videos linked in The Times' story. The hard sell is ongoing. If you are sold on Visclosky's "vision", he has a bridge in London to sell you too. Not only were the claims unsupported, the vision is cloudy and contradicted by reality. Sparks says access to mass transit has always fostered development in every community where it is built. The intial phase of this expansion proposal will be mainly in Hammond. What does sparks see for development in Hammond because of it? Well we don't have to wait ten years or spend a billion dollars to find out. Check the radius around Hammond's existing commuter station. Property values? Development? How about the radius at Gary Metro near 5th and Broadway? Dyer has an Amtrak stop, so poorly utilized that Amtrak and Dyer don't want to pay to maintain it. Where do these Amtrak trains go? Union Station downtown Chicago! Pay close attention to the part of the video where the cost is mentioned. If you miss it, don't subject yourself to watching it again because somehow they left that part out! Sucker! Happy Trails!

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/transp ... a99c7.html

Hammond is not a great city. It is a company town that enjoyed an approximately 30-year run of poor man's prosperity thanks largely to WWII.

Next batter up...Dan Carden...What? Again? Dan writes a piece that says that all NWI legislators want SSEX. That's my new acronym for South Shore EXpansion. The've all got a handful of reasons, but none want to talk about the cost, which is more than a handful. In it, we have some gems of wisdom, like Earline Rodgers confirming that the "rail line goes both ways". I don't really care what the preferences of the rail line are, but excluding Rodgers, is anyone suprised by her discovery? Another revealing quote came from Shelli VanDenburgh. Since the state bugdet is closed until next year, local pols are conspiring to pry open a funding source now. An option would be to add a local referendum to the ballot, to ask voters/taxpayers to affirmatively vote to raise taxes on themselves to pay for waste and a boondoggle. Shelli's shiny senses tell her that taxpayers are not ready to do as their masters(REPRESENTATIVES) want. Says Shel, "I'm having a really hard time wanting to add an additional tax on my constituents who are just now getting used to the 1.5 percent countywide income tax." She, like so many others, sees us as frogs. You "leaders" want SSEX? You think it's in the palm of your hand? Hey! That sounds like a good suggestion for you. Work it out, yourselves.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt ... e1d0f.html

Supposedly, this extension will bring jobs and prosperity. There is no jobs or prosperity being created by this white elephant. Look at where the South Shore stations are. Is there a business boom by them? NO ! The station in North Hammond is a good example. Several stores USED to be across the street from the station, or within 1/2 a block from the station. MOST of these have closed, and you have empty storefronts. People using the South Shore are not stopping to frequent the businesses adjacent to the train stations. They are going back to their own communities to spend their money. I have a family member who lives in LOFS, and takes the South Shore to work in Chicago. He goes to the Miller station. He doesn't shop in the Miller area. He goes back to the LOFS area to spend his money.
So the taxpayers are supposed to just pony up for something they will be paying for forever, that not only will not benefit them, but disturb some of their peace with the trains rumbling down the end of their streets, and subsidizing people of means who choose to live far away from their jobs. The democRATic way. Steal from the poor and give to the rich.
FTR, the tracks for this extension runs at the end of my street, my daughters street, and down the street from my mothers house.

I don't want to hear one complaint when YOUR governor gets rid of the business tax and that amount will made up from YOUR taxes!