change in power in Congress -- effect on CTA?

This question was asked in a similar format in another forum (NJT, I believe):

With the change of power in the House and (maybe) Senate from Republican to Democrat, do you think this will help CTA secure more funding and other benefits from Washington?

Offhand, I'd say no. In the Chicago area, for as long as I can remember (which is a good 20-25 years), the constituency screaming for more improvements to roads and expressways, among other things, has always been louder and wielded a lot more clout that those of us who support transit improvements first. Therefore, many of our congressional representatives over the years have had little incentive to prioritize additional federal funding for mass transit. And they still don't, because in recent years especially, most Illinois politicians apparently feel that Gov. Ryan's Illinois FIRST program was adequate enough to meet transit funding needs, even though it was never designed to be an unlimitied source of money. Only part of the reason why federally approved projects like Metra's STAR line, or CTA's Circle line are a long way off from being fully funded...