On Tuesday, I hopped on my bicycle and high-tailed it from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois, the state capital, in an effort to sample my first-ever horseshoe sandwich. In case you're not familiar with that delicacy, it's an open-faced sandwich composed of thick-sliced toast, a protein (typically a hamburger), cheese sauce, and french fries. It's an indigenous dish of Flower City and, as far as I know, it's no longer available in the Windy City.
Just kidding, I actually took a very pleasant Amtrak ride to Springpatch, albeit with my bicycle in tow. And while I did, in fact, enjoy a delicious and gigantic example of the local specialty (maybe next time I'll order a smaller "ponyshoe"), that was not actually the reason for my journey.
Rather, I came to town to cover Climate Day at the Capitol, where hundreds of environmental and sustainable transportation advocates gathered for a rally under the rotunda. They were lobbying lawmakers to pass smart legislation during the fall veto session, happening October 14-16 and October 28-30.
It's a particularly crucial time for transit boosters, because we are now peering into the abyss that would be the Chicagoland Transit Fiscal Cliff. If the Illinois General Assembly doesn't pass a public transportation reform and funding bill soon, the CTA, Metra, and Pace will face a major budget gap in 2026, resulting in widespread service cuts and layoffs. That would be a major blow to the entire Land of Lincoln economy.
Until recently, next year's total deficit was projected to be $771 million. But recently it was announced that, thanks to new tax revenue figures, the predicted shortfall was reduced to $202 million next year. Nonetheless, we can't allow politicians to back-burner this isue like they did during the spring legislative session. If they don't act quickly, the monetary ditch will get even larger than $771 million in upcoming years. Transit-friendly lawmakers and advocates are calling for $1.5 million in state funding annually to save and improve Chicago-area transit, plus another $200 million for upgrades to systems in other parts of the Prairie State.
This morning, I pedaled a few blocks from my very cheap motel to the capitol. I was flattered to see that champions of the transit reform/funding effort in the General Assembly had reserved a secure bike parking space for me in front of the building.
Again, I'm joking here. But there was definitely a who's who of Chicago walk/bike/transit advocacy heavy-hitters present in the capitol, so I did some mini-interviews. As soon as I got through the metal detector, I was greeted by Oboi Reed founder of the mobility justice nonprofit Equiticity.
"Equiticity is here advocating for climate justice, environmental justice in Chicago and statewide," Reed told me. "We support neighborhood mobility hubs being developed across the state. We support fully funding transit, and doing it in a way that is racially equitable and racially just, to ensure that marginalized communities are benefitting from transit."
The presentation started soon afterwards. Here's a clip of emcee Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter Executive Director Jack Darin explaining why achieving environmental goals will require "fixing and funding public transit."
Next up was State Sen. Ram Villivalam, sponsor of the public transportation reform and funding bill HB 3438, which passed the Senate last May, but has not yet been voted on by the House. He thanked the attendees for "coming down to your state capitol and advocating that we get the public transit system that we want, need, and deserve."
After that was Illinois Environmental Council Climate Policy Director Danny Robles. He said, "I've spent the last two years, alongside my colleagues at the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, advocating for legislation that will address and avert the transit fiscal cliff, and reform our transit system."
There were a few other speakers, discussing everything from creating jobs installing solar panels to efforts to reduce plastic use. Keeping the crowd energized were chants like this call-and-response led by Giselle Torres. "Fix it!" she called out. "Fund it!" the crowd answered.
After the presentation I flagged down a few other notable Chicago sustainable transportation advocates for short interviews. Kyle Lucas is the executive director of Better Streets Chicago, a grassroots advocacy group that has been tirelessly doing outreach across the region to raise awareness of the impending money crater.
"We are here to save public transit," Lucas told me. "We have to get this done. We've been here all day, talking to representatives and senators about why October veto session is a time to pass a transit funding bill."
W. Robert Schultz III, the Active Transportation Alliance's campaign organizer also told me why he was there. "I'm advocating for a better transportation system, and one that will be available in the future," said. "I've been talking to a lot of students, and I've come to the realization that whether you're in middle school, high school, or college, a lot of them depend on our public transportation system. And so I'm their voice. I'm doing this on behalf of the Active Transportation Alliance, and I also work with the [Cook County] Transportation Equity Network. And we want to make those transit deserts more robust. And so we need the state legislature to step up and do its job."
Last but not least was Center for Neighborhood Technology Senior Director for Transportation and Policy Jacky Grimshaw, whom I've nicknamed "the grand dame of Chicagoland sustainable transportation advocacy." Last April, she was honored by the Climate Action Museum with the 2025 Tom Skilling Lifetime Achievement Award. She also happens to be the grandmother of Streetsblog Chicago reporter Cameron Bolton.
"I'm in Springfield to see if we can get transit funding across the finish line, to make sure that transit in Chicago is not cut by 40 percent, this year or next year." she said. "So getting that across the finish is the main reason for being here, and I'll be here until it's over."
In contrast, after I'd typed up most of this article on a card table in a corner of the capitol, my work in Springfield was largely done. but I had one more item from my bucket list for this sub-24-hour visit, I bicycled about two miles north of the capitol to Lincoln's Tomb and rubbed the nose of his large brass head for good luck, a local tradition.
After that, I retraced by route to catch the train back to Chicago. After my fun Springfield sojourn, I'm now hopeful that Illinois legislators will pass a robust transit reform/funding bill by the end of the veto session. Maybe that will be thanks in part to me polishing Honest Abe's schnoz.
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