Article Summary
- Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill to provide $1.5 billion in new revenue for public transportation agencies while creating a new Chicago-area oversight agency.
- The plan does not include any statewide tax increases but does raise a sales tax in the Chicago area.
- Funding for the transit agencies will be diverted from sales taxes on motor fuel purchases and interest in the Road Fund.
- New reforms in the coming years will include more schedule coordination between transit agencies and a universal fare system.
- Nearly all Republican lawmakers voted against the law over concerns it hurts suburban representation on the transit agency boards and takes money away from downstate agencies.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
(Capitol News Illinois ) A yearslong effort to overhaul and improve funding for Chicago’s public transportation agencies crossed the finish line on Tuesday with Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature.
Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2111, which raises $1.5 billion to plug a fiscal cliff for the Chicago area’s transit agencies that was set to hit next year. The plan doesn’t include any statewide tax increases, instead relying on an increased sales tax in the Chicago area and a diversion of funds from the state’s Road Fund.
Many downstate lawmakers, particularly Republicans, lamented that the measure is expected to bring in only $129 million for transit agencies outside of Chicago and its suburbs. Those agencies had advocated for $200 million.
Advocates said the measure and a new Chicago-area leadership board created by it will reimagine the role public transportation plays in the state’s economy and people’s lives.
“Like far too many buses and trains, these reforms have been a long-time coming and faced too many delays,” Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said at a news conference at Union Station in Chicago. “Today, those delays end.”
Read more: Lawmakers approve $1.5B transit funding package without statewide tax increases
The Regional Transportation Authority, Chicago Transit Agency, Metra commuter rail and Pace Suburban Bus collectively faced a $230 million funding shortfall in 2026 as pandemic relief money ran out. The funding deficit was projected to grow to $834 million in 2027 and $937 million in 2028. Without action in Springfield to plug that gap, the transit agencies said they could have been forced to cut services by 40%.
Since the measure’s passage, the transit agencies approved 2026 budgets without fare hikes or service cuts.
“The new law not only averts the cliff but preserves affordability and makes transit safer and more reliable,” Pritzker said.
Read more: No fare hikes or service cuts for Chicago transit agencies, RTA chair says
The law also creates the Northern Illinois Transit Authority beginning September 2026, which is designed to be a stronger version of the RTA. The law gives NITA the ability to establish a universal fare system and coordinate schedules between the three service agencies — a power the RTA generally did not have.
Despite legislative hearings about the fiscal cliff plight early in the summer of 2024, the law faced a long road to passage during the early morning hours of Oct. 31. The bill stalled at the end of May and nearly failed to move forward again in October over disagreements about the right mix of tax increases and revenue to avoid financial calamity.
New funding
The bulk of the funding, an estimated $860 million, will come through redirecting sales tax revenue charged on motor fuel purchases to public transportation operations. The state’s 2019 infrastructure plan had earmarked most of that money for road projects.
Another estimated $200 million would come from interest growing in the Road Fund — a state fund that is typically used for road construction projects but can also be used for transportation-related purposes under the state constitution.
The changes were the most controversial part of the legislation. Beginning next July, 80% of the sales tax revenue will go toward public transportation — marking a dramatic shift away from road projects.
Of the sales tax revenue going toward public transportation, 85% will be dedicated to the Chicago region. The bill also calls for directing 90% of the expected $200 million in interest generated in the Road Fund to NITA, leaving 10% for the rest of the state.
Read more: From new train lines to parking regulations: What else is in Illinois’ transit bill
The expected $129 million for downstate Illinois would be used for annual operating expenses. Many Republican lawmakers voted against the bill arguing the new funding formula bails out Chicago to the detriment of downstate communities.
“I am happy that my constituents aren’t going to be stuck with ridiculous taxes,” Rep. Regan Deering, R-Decatur, said in October. “But I just can’t continue to vote for a piece of legislation that’s screws them anyway.”
Laura Calderon, head of the Illinois Public Transportation Association, said she believes the law is still a win for downstate communities.
“This bill makes an historic investment in downstate operating assistance and stabilizes a fund that has been structurally under resourced and puts downstate transit on a more sustainable path,” she said.
The law also raises the existing RTA sales tax by 0.25 percentage points to 1% in Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage and Will counties and 1.25% in Cook County. That tax hike is expected to generate $478 million.
Drivers of passenger vehicles on northern Illinois’ toll roads could also have to pay 45 cents more per toll as part of a plan to create a capital program for Tollway projects, though it must still be approved by the Tollway board. Tolls would also increase by inflation each year.
The law also requires 25% of revenue to come from fares. Previously, 50% of the systems’ revenue was required to be generated by riders.
Governing reforms
In addition to avoiding a crippling funding shortfall, lawmakers were also focused on revamping procedures and goals at the transit agencies.
The NITA board that will take over next September will be comprised of 20 members, but only five are required to be from outside Cook County. That caused some consternation for suburban lawmakers who feared their constituents’ voices would be diluted on the new board.
“Let’s call it what it is: a bailout for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson paid for by suburban taxpayers,” Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said in a statement. “It is going to make life even more expensive for suburban families with tax hikes and surcharges, while reducing suburban representation on transit decisions.”
The law also creates a law enforcement task force that will target hot spots for public safety issues on Chicago’s transit systems. Other roles will be tasked with deescalating conflicts or seeking to address homelessness and mental illness.
Several key changes for riders are likely still several years away, however. The law calls for implementing a new universal fare collection system by early 2030 and doesn’t require the agencies to follow a coordinated regional service plan until 2029.
The law also outlines new projects and goals for public transportation in Illinois. Lawmakers have said the bill’s goal was not just to fund the existing public transportation operations in the state, but to expand them.
New projects the law could set in motion include passenger train service to Peoria, Moline and Kankakee, and new CTA stations in Chicago.
The law also creates new development regulations to incentivize residential and commercial development projects near transit stations and end minimum parking requirements near transit stops.
(Reporting by Ben Szalinski, Capitol News Illinois)
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
This article first appeared on Capitol News Illinois and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Comments