In less than a week, voters will pick a president. We asked experts what a Barack Obama or a John McCain presidency would mean for Chicago.

Public transit:

Chicagoans know their city’s transit infrastructure could use a facelift, from El trains that make as many stops between stations as at stations, to expressways that seem perpetually clogged – or under construction. So what would the impact be on transit depending on which candidate becomes president?

An urban planning professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a spokesman for a non-profit campaign that advocates for transportation reform said Obama has more clearly laid out his plans for urban transit.

“McCain’s discussion of infrastructure has been limited to earmarks,” said David Goldberg, whose group, Transportation for America, has had contact with both campaigns. “Cities have been accustomed to lobbying for earmarks. It’s the way things have gotten done. McCain would make … a big show in the early stages about threatening earmarks in the next transportation bill.”

“McCain hasn’t had a lot to say about how he would invest in infrastructure,” Goldberg added.

Michael Shiffer, who is a professor of urban planning at UIC, but said he was speaking only for himself, said the wide swings energy prices have taken recently and chronic congestion have put wind behind the sails of transit projects.

“It’s pretty clear that Obama would focus attention on infrastructure pretty aggressively,” said Shiffer, noting that Obama’s Web site mentions specific initiatives, such as a fund to invest in infrastructure.

Given McCain's support for environmental efforts such as carbon cap-and-trade efforts, he may not feed America’s auto-dependency as much as some people fear, Goldberg said.

“Philosophically you wouldn’t expect him to be a big proponent of more auto dependency, but the 'drill, baby drill' doesn’t auger well," Goldberg said.

Both experts suggested Obama’s urban background could be pluses for mass-transit development.

“I think it’s a matter of one person [Obama] having spent most of his life in big cities and having experience with mass-transit, versus somebody like John McCain, who is from not-so-cosmopolitan areas and has been wealthy most of his life,” Goldberg said.

Arts:

Chicago is the home of the blues, with world-class art museums and outstanding theaters.

How would each candidate’s policies affect the city's thriving arts scene?

The National Endowment for the Arts is the biggest federal program providing funding for cultural and artistic endeavors. Many of the city’s arts organizations received grants from the NEA last year, from larger ones such as the Art Institute and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to smaller ones such as Pegasus Players’ theater company and the South Chicago Art Center.

While “McCain has been silent on the issue, some of his past voting record has been opposed to the NEA [National Endowment for the Arts],” said Scarlett Swerdlow, communications director for the Illinois Arts Alliance.

Obama, meanwhile, supports increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, said Narric Rome, director of federal affairs for Americans for the Arts Action Fund, a bipartisan arts advocacy group the group. Obama also proposes creation of a national “Artist Corps” of young artists working in public schools, Rome said.

Both Obama and McCain have met with representatives from Americans for the Arts, but the Obama campaign has provided more detail about his arts policy, Rome said.

 “In a lot of ways if you’re able to secure funding from the National Endowment for the Arts or the Illinois Arts Council, that’s a signal to other donors that you’re work is of a certain caliber,” Swerdlow added. “For many small and mid-sized organizations, if there are fewer grant opportunities you may lose that signal. Corporate and foundational support -- those opportunities might also be impacted.”

“There won’t be much to talk about if Sen. McCain is elected president,” said Rome.

If McCain is elected, it is likely that public funding for arts in Chicago would either remain at its current level or be cut in the years to come, Rome said, citing McCain’s voting record.

Crime:

This past summer Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis was on the hot seat after an 18 percent spike in murders in the first seven months of 2008 over 2007. Chicago leads the nation in murders, exceeding both Los Angeles and New York.

John Hagedorn, professor of criminology at UIC said the impact of one candidate or the other would probably be the same.

“I don’t think there will be any difference depending on who’s elected,” he said. “The day after [the election] will be the same as the day before.”

Hagedorn said Chicago stands to get more resources if Obama takes the White House, simply because Mayor Daley has been an Obama supporter.

“There will be goodies coming in," he said. “But do those goodies translate into less crime? No, there’s no reason to believe that.”