I ask this assumption based on two possibilities.
1.The CTA raises its monthly pass to $122.00
2. METRA doesn't raise it's mothly passes.
Heck,it be easy for me to tell my employer to stop paying for the monthly CTA card and switch it to METRA.
Looking at the list of routes to be cut, it appears that CTA is conceding passengers to METRA.
I see they are cutting Evanston routes such as the 201, and the 206.
Not everyone can afford that switch.
How many Evanston Hosptial workers can afford a ten ride Metra ticket to Central street?
How may domestics who ride the Pace 213, after connecting through the purple line can afford a ten-ride Metra ticket to Winnetka from downtown Chicago?
We are many, we reverse commuters. Suburbs, you need us. You need CTA service as much as we city folk do.
More after I've had a night's sleep.
Monday, June 11, 2007
SICK TRANSIT Part 2 STOP, LOOK and LISTEN, DAMNIT!
I was going to write something about the CTA hearingat UIC Monday night. I'll get to it. I was delayed traveling there because my long commute from the work in the Northwest Suburbs was made even longer because 1) The Milwaukee North Line train was delayed due to freight traffic. 2.) We were delayed because of this accident.
If you're driving in the 'burbs or you're just crossing the tracks, don't forget the fundamentals.
See title of this post.
Let me add two other things.
1) Get off the cell phone and pay attention to your surroundings.
2) Remember, METRA will occasionally run its local trains as expresses. That was the case today. Be aware that a massive hunk of metal on wheels may come whooshing your way faster than you think. Adjust accordingly.
Thus endth my lesson.
Thus endeth a life.
If you're driving in the 'burbs or you're just crossing the tracks, don't forget the fundamentals.
See title of this post.
Let me add two other things.
1) Get off the cell phone and pay attention to your surroundings.
2) Remember, METRA will occasionally run its local trains as expresses. That was the case today. Be aware that a massive hunk of metal on wheels may come whooshing your way faster than you think. Adjust accordingly.
Thus endth my lesson.
Thus endeth a life.
SICK TRANSIT..inglorius hearings?
The PACE 626 bus I take to work had to pull over and restart a couple of times. Its dodgy condition, I am tempted to say, is a metaphor for mass transit in Northeastern Illinois. All of us who ride Metra, PACE, and the CTA will be affected by cutbacks to service.This morning, I heard State Sen. Julie Hamnos complaining about her suburban colleagues taking potshots at the CTA.
Read up, my suburban dear ones: We city folk work in your 'burbs, you need US and you need the mass transit that gets us to your office parks, your shopping malls, your factories, and your hospitals.If you don't believe me, then spend a day riding the yellow line, or PACE bus routes such as the 290, the 626 or the 386.You might be interested to know how far some city folks have to travel to get their jobs. I know people traveling from the South Side to get to Northbrook, for example. They need the L service to get up to the Skokie terminal on time for their bus.Ok.
Enough ranting. I'm going to a CTA public hearing tonight.More later.
Read up, my suburban dear ones: We city folk work in your 'burbs, you need US and you need the mass transit that gets us to your office parks, your shopping malls, your factories, and your hospitals.If you don't believe me, then spend a day riding the yellow line, or PACE bus routes such as the 290, the 626 or the 386.You might be interested to know how far some city folks have to travel to get their jobs. I know people traveling from the South Side to get to Northbrook, for example. They need the L service to get up to the Skokie terminal on time for their bus.Ok.
Enough ranting. I'm going to a CTA public hearing tonight.More later.
Sweeping Away Cobwebs....
....from this blog..and [COUGH] the dust.
The Chicago Fire's coach Dave Sarachan has a lineup depleted by injuries and national team callups. A couple of the fill-ins, Bakaray Soumarie, and Willian Oliveira have done well. Nevertheless the Fire is a team made of of folks not used to playing with each other.It showed Saturday night. Chivas's pass distribution was much better. Nevertheless, the Fire's defense had a good game until...until...oh go to the MLS Website and click on the highlights.of the Chicago-Chivas match.It's a cruel game. One slip up by Dasan Robinson and Chivas gets a goal. Read more here, if you must.
............
Hmmm...next Saturday....go to the Globe and watch DC United vs the Chicago Fire? Or go hear the Grant Park Chorus sing.
That used to be an easy choice. Watching soccer shouldered everything out of the way. On the other hand: how much disappointment can I bear? I have a sideline pass to FIRE games, and thus really can't express my emotions about the team's performance...although I have been muttering obscenities. Nevertheless, it's hard to shoot photos and yell WTF!!! at the same time.Nah. When I realize that the only choirs I've heard recently have been my church choir, and the mass that makes up Section 8, then I think it's time for some cultural enrichment. Blake Adams, our choir director, sings in the chorus. It's time to hear what he and his fellow choristers can do.Hearing Mendelssohn will not make me grind my teeth, the way an overhit crossing pass does.
The Chicago Fire's coach Dave Sarachan has a lineup depleted by injuries and national team callups. A couple of the fill-ins, Bakaray Soumarie, and Willian Oliveira have done well. Nevertheless the Fire is a team made of of folks not used to playing with each other.It showed Saturday night. Chivas's pass distribution was much better. Nevertheless, the Fire's defense had a good game until...until...oh go to the MLS Website and click on the highlights.of the Chicago-Chivas match.It's a cruel game. One slip up by Dasan Robinson and Chivas gets a goal. Read more here, if you must.
............
Hmmm...next Saturday....go to the Globe and watch DC United vs the Chicago Fire? Or go hear the Grant Park Chorus sing.
That used to be an easy choice. Watching soccer shouldered everything out of the way. On the other hand: how much disappointment can I bear? I have a sideline pass to FIRE games, and thus really can't express my emotions about the team's performance...although I have been muttering obscenities. Nevertheless, it's hard to shoot photos and yell WTF!!! at the same time.Nah. When I realize that the only choirs I've heard recently have been my church choir, and the mass that makes up Section 8, then I think it's time for some cultural enrichment. Blake Adams, our choir director, sings in the chorus. It's time to hear what he and his fellow choristers can do.Hearing Mendelssohn will not make me grind my teeth, the way an overhit crossing pass does.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Robo-calls versus humans...
...we'll see who does a better job today. I've deleted at least three from the Moore campaign. One human from Gordon's campaign called with a polling place reminder.
Score one for Gordon's campaign for not clogging up my voice mail box.
But never mind my irritiation with Robo-calls. I want to know if they're effective?
If I was running for office and was flush with $$$$ they way Moore is, what would be a better use of campaign money: contracting out to an automated calling service, or getting a group of well trained humans to spread the word.
One article I found suggests the humans work better. Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber tested campaigning techniques such as mailings, door hangers, door-to-door canvassing and robo-calls.
In a series of more than 20 experiments conducted between 1998 and 2002, Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber tested all of the key techniques campaigns employ to generate voter turnout. In each experiment, they established a control group that received none of the mail, phone calls or door-to-door contacts being tested. Then, using voter records showing which voters actually voted, they measured the impact of these methods. ...A major message that comes through these experiments: Quality counts. The more personal the contact, the more likely it is to motivate someone to vote. Phone calls by volunteers or well-trained and committed callers work much better than calls made by professional callers with no connection to the candidate or cause. In the case of phones, paying $1.50 for a high quality call is far more cost effective than paying 50 cents for a short call hurriedly read by an uncommitted caller.
From: Shattering myths about getting out the vote. , Campaigns and Elections June 1, 2004. Green and Gerber's research ended up in a book called Get Out the Vote! How to Increase Voter Turnout.
Maybe Robo-calls are cost effective if the candidate doesn't have an experienced staff, with little experience in training volunteers. But an incumbent using robo-calls? It sounds like laziness.
Score one for Gordon's campaign for not clogging up my voice mail box.
But never mind my irritiation with Robo-calls. I want to know if they're effective?
If I was running for office and was flush with $$$$ they way Moore is, what would be a better use of campaign money: contracting out to an automated calling service, or getting a group of well trained humans to spread the word.
One article I found suggests the humans work better. Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber tested campaigning techniques such as mailings, door hangers, door-to-door canvassing and robo-calls.
In a series of more than 20 experiments conducted between 1998 and 2002, Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber tested all of the key techniques campaigns employ to generate voter turnout. In each experiment, they established a control group that received none of the mail, phone calls or door-to-door contacts being tested. Then, using voter records showing which voters actually voted, they measured the impact of these methods. ...A major message that comes through these experiments: Quality counts. The more personal the contact, the more likely it is to motivate someone to vote. Phone calls by volunteers or well-trained and committed callers work much better than calls made by professional callers with no connection to the candidate or cause. In the case of phones, paying $1.50 for a high quality call is far more cost effective than paying 50 cents for a short call hurriedly read by an uncommitted caller.
From: Shattering myths about getting out the vote. , Campaigns and Elections June 1, 2004. Green and Gerber's research ended up in a book called Get Out the Vote! How to Increase Voter Turnout.
Maybe Robo-calls are cost effective if the candidate doesn't have an experienced staff, with little experience in training volunteers. But an incumbent using robo-calls? It sounds like laziness.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Time to start campaigning!
On my voicemail was yet another “Robo-call” from Illinois SEIU urging me to vote for Joe Moore. I angrily erased the thing. Is it Tuesday yet? Enough with these outsiders telling me who to vote for!
A few minutes later, I had an epiphany. I have been taking these calls the wrong way. Silly me, I though, forget what certain Rogers Park blogs say. You don’t need to live in a ward to campaign for an alderman. Therefore, you don’t have to live in a city to campaign for a mayor.
Therefore, I want to urge everyone in Naperville to reelect George Pradel!
You may be asking what I know about Naperville? Ok, it’s twenty five miles west of Chicago in DuPage County. You can get there by Metra from Union station, and it’s the home of North Central College. I know this because back in 2002 & 2003, the Chicago Fire played its home games at Cardinal Stadium while Soldier Field was being renovated. They also have a neat looking downtown. I know, because I spent many a Saturday there before and after Fire games. It’s a neat looking city that probably is drawing a lot of ex-Chicagoans out there who are fed up with Cook County politics, and have yet to learn about DuPage County politics. Also, if you’re fed up with WBEZ’s programming changes, you can move out to Naperville and get WDCB’s signal a lot clearer.
Sure, sure, you say, but what do I know about local issues in Naperville? Aren’t there things I should discuss like growth, business development and all that other boring stuff? No, silly!. Go here if you want views about that
Why do I need to concern myself with Naperville’s mundane local issues which don’t affect me directly? I’m supporting George Pradel because he was a friend of the Chicago Fire. That’s good enough for me.
Now you may be saying, “Don, Naperville is so far away. How can you possibly campaign for Pradel? Shouldn‘t you be concerned with an election closer to home?”
Gosh, that’s a good point! Hey, there are elections in Evanston
Craig! Toni! Jocelyn! Let's get going! Guys! Are you with me?
Guys?.......
A few minutes later, I had an epiphany. I have been taking these calls the wrong way. Silly me, I though, forget what certain Rogers Park blogs say. You don’t need to live in a ward to campaign for an alderman. Therefore, you don’t have to live in a city to campaign for a mayor.
Therefore, I want to urge everyone in Naperville to reelect George Pradel!
You may be asking what I know about Naperville? Ok, it’s twenty five miles west of Chicago in DuPage County. You can get there by Metra from Union station, and it’s the home of North Central College. I know this because back in 2002 & 2003, the Chicago Fire played its home games at Cardinal Stadium while Soldier Field was being renovated. They also have a neat looking downtown. I know, because I spent many a Saturday there before and after Fire games. It’s a neat looking city that probably is drawing a lot of ex-Chicagoans out there who are fed up with Cook County politics, and have yet to learn about DuPage County politics. Also, if you’re fed up with WBEZ’s programming changes, you can move out to Naperville and get WDCB’s signal a lot clearer.
Sure, sure, you say, but what do I know about local issues in Naperville? Aren’t there things I should discuss like growth, business development and all that other boring stuff? No, silly!. Go here if you want views about that
Why do I need to concern myself with Naperville’s mundane local issues which don’t affect me directly? I’m supporting George Pradel because he was a friend of the Chicago Fire. That’s good enough for me.
Now you may be saying, “Don, Naperville is so far away. How can you possibly campaign for Pradel? Shouldn‘t you be concerned with an election closer to home?”
Gosh, that’s a good point! Hey, there are elections in Evanston
Craig! Toni! Jocelyn! Let's get going! Guys! Are you with me?
Guys?.......
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Life After MatchNight
A new MLS season begins today. Normally, I'd be posting photos to the gallery related to MatchNight. My colleagues Bill and Dan would be posting game articles on The Fire Alarm.
No more. MatchNight ceased operations on March 31. While Bill recovers from his stroke, Dan, John, Rusty and I can be found here.
My writing contributions to Windy City Soccer will be...occasional. The bulk of my contributions will be photographs, which can be seen here.
As for RevsNet, Mid-Atlantic Soccer report, and the other regional MatchNight sites, you can find their successors here.
And now, own to the Sears Centre AND Toyota Park.
No more. MatchNight ceased operations on March 31. While Bill recovers from his stroke, Dan, John, Rusty and I can be found here.
My writing contributions to Windy City Soccer will be...occasional. The bulk of my contributions will be photographs, which can be seen here.
As for RevsNet, Mid-Atlantic Soccer report, and the other regional MatchNight sites, you can find their successors here.
And now, own to the Sears Centre AND Toyota Park.
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