News
IN: Donnelly: State should take Toll Road back. US Sen. Joe Donnelly said the Indiana Toll Road lease turned out to be “mess of epic proportions” and the state should take management back now as the Spanish-Australian consortium operating it has gone bankrupt. nwitimes.com
CA: California getaways leave Utahns racking up toll road fines. Utah residents love to relax in sunny California. But a new automated toll road system in Orange County is causing a lot of stress and leaving many drivers facing hundreds of dollars in late fees. KSL.com
IL: Study: Chicago charter schools lag traditional ones. Charter schools have failed to improve Chicago’s public school system and perform less ably than comparable traditional schools, according to a new report from an urban research group at the University of Minnesota Law School. The Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity concludes in its report that, taking into consideration factors such as economic status, Chicago charters lag behind neighborhood schools in producing students who meet or exceed standards for reading and math, as well as in graduation rates. The institute also says its research found that “charters are much less likely to be racially or ethnically diverse.” Chicago Tribune
KY: Anti-tolls group: We’re growing rapidly. Northern Kentucky United now has more than 60 local businesses and organizations and political leaders signed on as members, the coalition announced Monday. The group launched its “No BS Tolls” campaign on Oct. 2 with about 10 core members. “There has been a misperception that Northern Kentucky’s business community is in support of tolls,” coalition leader Joe Meyer said. “Based on the intensity of interest in our coalition … I’m confident it will become clear that Northern Kentucky residents and the broader business community do not support tolls on the Brent Spence Bridge.” Debate over whether the state will pass legislation leading to the use of tolls to help pay for the $2.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge project is heating up as the Kentucky General Assembly prepares for the start of its next session in January. Cincinnati.com
TX: Northeast Corridor opponents deride officials, tell Hunt County commissioners they don’t want toll road.More than 30 people from across North Texas showed up in front of a Hunt County government building Tuesday to protest a planned rural toll road from Garland to Greenville. “We’re all citizens not wanting this thing,” said Bryan Slaton, a Royse City resident who spoke in front of the crowd of residents. Many opponents to Northeast Gateway held signs that said, “No eminent domain for private gain,” and “Hands off our land.” Dallas Morning News (blog)
LA: Connected company gets work release contracts. . . Over the last five years, Louisiana Workforce has quietly come to dominate the state’s lucrative and obscure world of privately run work-release programs, which allows private owners to profit handsomely from the labor of captives. Perkins, the company’s owner, says the company’s success is a function of quality. But he has also assiduously courted the favor of sheriffs around the state through political contributions, and he also boasts unmatched relationships with DOC’s top brass. WWL