There are lots of people with ideas I wish I'd thought of, but only a few people whom I wish I thought like. My friend and colleague Matt Maldre is one of those latter folks.

Matt has a visually ingenious way of seeing the world, whether it's with traditional tools in connection with his job as a graphic artist, photographer and designer, or in his delightful take on how to creatively keep a Chicago Cubs scorecard at Wrigley Field.

Matt recently turned his attention to a serious matter that affects all Chicago public transit riders: Because of a lack of funds, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace will need to drastically cut service. According to the CTA, unless funding is obtained, on Jan. 20 it will eliminate 81 of its 154 bus routes, lay off more than 2,400 employees and raise fares to record levels. Similar cutbacks will occur at Metra and Pace.

Matt has found a way to use Metra schedules to illustrate the political ramifications of legislation to fund public transportation in Chicago.

The CTA is encouraging riders to contact our legislators. Now, thanks to Matt, I need to figure out why my representative failed to cast a vote not once, but twice on this important issue.

TECHNICAL NOTE
This podcast was recorded entirely with a Marantz PMD620 digital recorder using its built-in stereo microphones. And no, the occasional annoying clicks are not the result of Matt or me futzing with a ballpoint -- yours truly was adjusting the recording levels and all that button pushing got picked up. This is one of the downsides to this recorder that Jeff Towne explains in his review at Transom.org.

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