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Is the Stimulus Package really transformative

In the state of Illinois, the biggest recipient of the stimulus money is the Illinois Department of Transportation, which has received more than $845 million, according to the government’s stimulus Web site. And, what has the government achieved by this funding.

The opinion on this is as varied as the result. In some cases, the results are spectacular and testament to how the stimulus should actually have worked. A case in point is the Chicago Transit Authority’s project to rebuild the heavily used Red and Brown Line stations at Fullerton and Belmont avenues in 2007 and 2008, but it ran out of money midway through the project. Canopies that should have been more than double the length only reached 125 meters. This meant that many riders were exposed to the elements and got drenched in rain or snow while waiting for their ride and tended to bunch up as much as possible under the canopies, causing uneen distribution of passengers along the platform and difficulties in getting on or off the train. Last year, the CTA was awarded $1.9 million in stimulus funds to extend the canopies.

Now, the Red and Brown Line stations at Fullerton and Belmont avenues have canopies that extend to 300 meters, offering more protection to passengers. They are made of a translucent plastic supported by steel columns. They even seem to upgrade their neighborhoods, gliding airily over the street and they accomplish something even more important- they subtly encourage more people to use transit. They are useful, durable and handsome and they are likely to be around for many more decades to come. This is exactly the kind of transformative effect the entire stimulus package should have had. But, has it?

One of the prime focus of the stimulus was to protect and create as many jobs as possible. One of the many ways it hopes to accomplish this is by investing in traditional infrastructure projects like fixing and paving old roads and creating a new infrastructure. As one sees in the case of Illinois Department of Transportation, it is hiring contractors by the score to repave old, damaged roads from Wisconsin to the southern tip of the state. So far, it has repaved more than 31 miles of arterial streets.

However, the fact is that these road building projects are short term achievements. In a few years time, the same roads will need repaving again. In that case, should stimulus money be spent on projects like these even if they create employment? On the other hand, there are longer lasting transformative projects like the Red and Brown Line stations at Fullerton and Belmont avenues that should get more funding from the stimulus package.

The trick is to draw the line between short term and long term projects that impact the infrastructure in a meaningful way in the long run and at the same time provide better facilities as well as opportunities for employment in the present.

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