By Emily Steinke
Ellen Steinke is a Chicago-based writer focused on transit, civic engagement, and systemic reform, with a background in science, comedy, and theology.
After months of negotiations, hearings, and community organizing, the most ambitious transit funding and reform bill Illinois has seen in decades was quietly killed. Not by voters, not by public outcry, but by notifications from Uber and Lyft.
It happened like this. Local 150 — the powerful private construction union that benefits from Illinois' road-building contracts — which said it had "partnered" with the transit unions on funding, insisted that no toll revenue be used to support public transportation. That demand helped stall negotiations for weeks.
On May 31, in the final hours of the spring legislative session, the construction union only came on board after a last-minute addition to the transit funding bill introduced a $1.50 fee on some deliveries and a 10 percent ride-hail tax. These aren’t radical ideas. States across the country are already successfully using similar tools to support their transit systems. The fee didn’t apply to groceries, and most people already paying for delivery probably wouldn’t even notice the extra cost.
But then Uber and other gig economy giants went on the offensive anyway. Uber immediately blasted customers with a fear-mongering push notification: "SECRET tax hike... Act NOW." [Emphasis added.] In other words, your pizza will cost more! Downstate Illinoisans will subsidize Chicagoland!
Never mind that the Chicago region is responsible for roughly 75 percent of Illinois' economic output, generating tax revenue that keeps roads paved across our state. Or that some downstate regions receive up to $2.88 for every dollar they pay in taxes, while Cook County only gets $0.98 back.
Disregard the fact that delivery and ride-hail vehicles cause disproportionate wear on roads, often double-parking and causing congestion, while transit use has the opposite effects. These modest fees were a reasonable way to offset those costs and fund public transportation, which benefits the entire state.
This wasn’t about fairness. It was about power.
The transit funding and reform bill passed the Illinois Senate minutes before midnight. But it never even made it to the floor in the House.
So we’re left with this. A politically connected construction union dictated how your tax dollars could be spent. Then a tech giant with a direct stake in public transportation's failure sent out a push alert — and derailed years of advocacy in a single night.
And our elected officials didn’t fight. Some of them didn’t even vote. When it came to these heavy-handed lobbying tactics, the politicians just said… nothing.
The legislation had support. Over 10,000 people contacted their representatives through organizations like the Regional Transportation Authority, the Active Transportation Alliance, Better Streets Chicago, and others. And that’s a conservative estimate, not counting phone calls, town halls, emails, or hours of testimony.
Chicagoland residents demanded change. But Local 150 and Uber demanded the status quo. And the ones who pay to play won.
Springfield let Local 150 — a union with a history of killing clean energy projects and facing FBI investigation for intimidation — shape how public funds could be used.
And the lawmakers let Uber — a company that doesn’t provide benefits to drivers, is investing in autonomous vehicles, and is piloting fixed-route shuttles to replace public buses — dictate the outcome.
This wasn’t just about a delivery fee. The bill would have addressed Chicagoland's looming $771 million transit fiscal cliff. The fact that the full General Assembly didn't pass it means that our public transportation agencies are already starting to prepare for as much as 40 percent service cuts and 3,000 layoffs. The legislation also included major governance reforms — the kind advocates and watchdog groups have been requesting for years. But it lacked one thing: political courage.
Prior to the transit legislation stalling, Governor JB Pritzker was fairly conspicuous by his absence in discussions about saving transit, although he finally addressed the issue in a press conference the next day. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also wasn't particularly vocal about the subject until after the fact.
But Labor and Uber obstructed. And legislators, some of whom take donations from Local 150, Uber, and related PACs, let corporations shape public policy. Some with political donations and stall tactics, others with a single push notification.
Not only does the impending budget gap mean the transit agencies may have to make Draconian cuts. We're also facing a future with more driving, crashes, pollution, traffic jams, and higher household transportation costs, especially for people who can least afford them.
Whether people wind up ditching transit by choice because service has declined, or because they have no other options, Uber will profit. Likewise, Local 150 will do just fine if public transportation funding legislation never passes — they'll get to keep "their" toll dollars and benefit from more car use, which means more road construction contracts.
This situation raises uncomfortable questions:
- Do our representatives work for us, or for the players bankrolling their campaigns?
- Is anyone actually willing to lead?
- And is Chicagoland's imperfect transit system really the problem here, or just the scapegoat?
Meanwhile, a summer legislative session to address the transit fiscal cliff still hasn’t been called, supposedly because negotiations are still ongoing. So we're still at a crossroads.
We can choose smarter, more equitable transportation policy, or double down on a status quo that’s failing. We can support transit, or let donors with conflicts of interest keep calling the shots.
Illinois legislators had a chance to make a real, courageous difference. Instead, they abandoned their own proposals, ignored tens of thousands of constituents, and let the one moment they needed to act pass them by. This was all because of powerful interests, and a ping on their phones.
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