Sponsored by:
• Once again, Trump's transit czar threatens CTA if it doesn't do more to address crime, although state transit bill already mandates that (NBC, Crain's)
• Video captured harrowing moment when Metra BNSF train struck front of vehicle in Hinsdale. Driver, 80, survived with only minor injuries. (NBC)
• An option for getting home from Metra on a "Starry, Starry Night"? "Pace Launches New VanGo Service in Joliet, Expanding 1st-/Last-Mile Options"
• In the WTTW special "City Works," airing today, "Geoffrey Baer rides in a Metra locomotive and then visits the Metra Control Center in the South Loop"
• "Operation North Pole Christmas train is heading back onto Metra’s tracks after a five-year hiatus." (Railway Supply)
• "Donate to Metra's Toys for Tots drive at downtown Chicago stations" today (CBS)
• "Bike Fatalities - Investigating USDOT-Registered Carriers, Chicago Contracts, & Insurance Networks" hosted by ChiHack Night tonight at 6 PM (Block Club)
On November 12, SBC launched our 2026 fund drive to raise $50K through ad sales and donations. That will complete next year's budget, at a time when it's tough to find grant money. Big thanks to all the readers who have chipped in so far to help keep this site rolling all next year! Currently, we're at $5,835, with $44,165 to go, ideally by the end of February.
If you value our livable streets reporting and advocacy, please consider making a tax-exempt end-of-year gift here. If you can afford a contribution of $100 or more, think of it as a subscription. That will help keep the site paywall-free for people on tighter budgets, as well as decision-makers. Thanks for your support!
– John Greenfield, editor
