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In the early hours of Halloween, Illinois General Assembly passed $1.5B transit bill that’s anything but horrific. Pritzker will likely sign it.
Update Friday 10/31/25, 9:00 AM: It was scary when the Illinois General Assembly floor debate over transit legislation entered the Halloween witching hours. But thankfully it looks like we've avoided a "Nightmare on Second Street" (the roadway where the state capitol is located). Here are some features of the new legislation that passed with $1.5 billion for public transportation, raised without statewide taxes, which I gleaned from a report by Capitol News Illinois and a summary by Capitol Fax.
October 29, 2025
Today’s Headlines for Wednesday, October 29
• Illinois Policy is back on their... ridiculousness, demanding upgrades to transit that are already in bill, while rejecting new revenue sources to fund them
October 29, 2025
What’s more regressive: Modest driving surcharges to help fund transit, or forced car ownership?
By Ellen Steinke
October 28, 2025
Today’s Headlines for Tuesday, October 28
• RTA board captain Kirk Dillard: "The real consequences of not funding transit in Illinois" (Tribune)
October 28, 2025
Star:Line Chicago, Capitol Fax (and Streetsblog?) brutally roast Illinois Policy CEO’s clueless op-ed about the transit bill
If you weren't already convinced that the Illinois Policy Institute think tank is an alarmist right-wing organization, just check out the homepage of their blog. The headlines are screaming at you in all caps. And they seem to carefully select the most unflattering screenshots possible of progressive leaders such as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a strategy right out of the Fox News playbook.
October 27, 2025
Today’s Headlines for Monday, October 27
• New Illinois Policy op-ed in Daily Herald: proposed driving fees to fund transit are unfair to suburbanites, even though they'd prevent Metra and Pace cuts
October 27, 2025
Living on the edge: The 23rd annual Chicago Perimeter Ride traced the city’s circumference in 19 hours
This post isn't completely within Streetsblog Chicago's wheelhouse, but I thought many of our readers would enjoy it, so I recently wrote it up, mostly during an evening at my after-hours office.
October 25, 2025
Illinois State Sen. Ram Villivilam provides an update on efforts to get a transit reform/funding bill to the finish line
It's getting down to the wire as Illinois legislators try to pass a transit reform and funding bill during their fall veto session, which wraps up next week from Tuesday through Thursday. If they don't approve such legislation soon, the result could be major service cuts and layoffs for the CTA, Metra, and Pace.
October 24, 2025
Today’s Headlines for Friday, October 24
• "Transit Leaders Plead For Lawmakers To Fill $200 Million Shortfall As CTA, Metra Cuts Loom" (Block Club)
October 24, 2025
At RTA meeting, ex-mayor of “Groundhog Day” movie setting Woodstock, IL says voting structure casts shadow on transit reform bill
As we approach the the end of October, things are getting eerie. I'm not talking about spectral Halloween decorations. (Sorry, I wound up squeezing two different holiday references into this post.) Rather, I'm referring to the haunting possibility that state legislators may go home from their fall veto session, wrapping up Tuesday through Thursday of next week, without passing a transit reform and funding bill. That could result in service cuts and layoffs, which would indeed be frightful.
October 23, 2025
