If BeOS had survived this wouldn't be an issue. Cores and threads everywhere! But noooooooo...

There have been numerous proposals to link Metra to the CTA, the latest of which is the "Clinton Street Subway" plan. I agree with you that this is a concept that is long overdue, and I'm sure we could find millions more who agree with us. The problem, as usual, is money. When was the last time local government did *anything* on time or on budget? The CTA spent $250 million on the Block 37 super-station and all they have to show for it is a concrete shell that's been mothballed because there's no money to cover the overage. Metra can't even keep track of its executives' vacation time, as Phil Pagano painfully demonstrated.

That being said, I strongly believe that investments in urban transit will provide far better bang for the tax buck than inter-city high-speed service. Illinois is spending $1.1 billion of federal money to construct semi-high-speed service between Alton and Dwight. We're spending that kind of coin to connect a city of 30,000 with a city of 4,400 (in other words, $32,000 per citizen) and yet we have the audacity to criticize Alaska for their so-called "Bridge to Nowhere". That money would go a long way towards... the Clinton Street Subway, perhaps?

Speaking as a life-long Chicagoan I don't really care what the reason was. I'm just glad the games won't be held here. The benefits of holding the games are questionable at best. What is certain is that it would be the biggest source of graft and corruption for friends of Mayor Daley and the Chicago Democratic Machine since the opening of O'Hare. The city hasn't completed a single public works project on time and on budget in decades, and this would surely be a financial disaster that would run into the billions. And it would be up to folks like me to bankroll it, since, unlike the other candidate cities, Chicago did not have federal assistance or sponsorship. If you think the IOC cares one whit about passport control or swamping the locals with debt then I have a bridge to sell you...

What is it with things named/called Caldera