https://ballotpedia.org/Illinois_Transportation_Taxes_and_Fees_Lockbox_Amendment_(2016)
I'm leaning "no" on it. That's the status quo. In theory it seems like a good idea to spend tax money only on the things it's nominally collected for but our budget situation is such a giant clusterf**k this seems like a way to give Rauner more leverage cutting services to the bone while giving the building industry (who've thrown a lot of money at pushing the amendmend) a huge windfall.
Opposition
Chicago Sun-Times said: "Nobody would be talking about lockboxes if our pathetic Legislature and governor would only come to terms on a new state budget that responsibly balances spending and revenue overall. No one doubts that transportation projects are in a sorry state in Illinois, with roads and highways in need of billions of dollars of repairs even as money collected from a gas tax, tolls and license fees is spent elsewhere. But the solution is a budget, not a shell game. A lockbox is nothing but an admission of failure, and we urge you to vote the idea down November."[25]
The State Journal-Register said: "In other words, voters could pass this amendment, have remorse down the road and find themselves stuck with it for a long time. Let's also remember that efforts to fix a major source of Illinois' budget woes in the first place — its ballooning pension obligations — have been stymied as well by the strictness of the Constitution. ... This constitutional amendment only hamstrings our already beleaguered budget and benefits a specific industry. Voters on Nov. 8 should reject the simplistic, feel-good appeals and cast the wiser, long-term choice: No."[26]
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