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• US reps from IL announced that the feds have committed to contributing $1.9B to help make the $5.75B the Red Line Extension happen (WTTW, Crain's)

On Sunday, as part of Streetsblog Chicago's Bike Lane Week 2024, I checked out a little project to create a more seamless transition between two segments of the Leavitt Street (2200 W.) Neighborhood Greenway side street bike route. North of the North Branch of the Chicago River, the route runs about three miles between Diversey Parkway (2800 N.) and Berwyn Avenue (5300 N.)

• CTA says it's fully restoring bus service to pre-pandemic levels. For real?

Check out Part 1: Uptown, Lincoln Square, West Ridge, Rogers Park, Edgewater here

• City Council passes, with $500K allocated for #PlowTheSidewalks (1/2 of what was requested) thanks to advocacy by Ald. La Spata (1st) (Block Club)

Let's get real: Illinois has a looming public transportation crisis on our hands. Federal COVID-19 subsidy money, which has kept the CTA, Pace, and Metra running despite lower post-pandemic ridership, is projected to run out by 2026. How can we dodge this transit fiscal cliff in Chicagoland, the metro region where roughly three-quarters of Prairie State residents live? Here are some possibilities that have been discussed:

• Block Club: "Amtrak To Boost Midwest Rail Service. A Union Station Makeover Is Next"

This post was written by John Greenfield, and features research by Sharon Hoyer.

At this week's final CTA board meeting of 2024, the directors approved several ordinances. Most notably, the CTA and DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business agreed to launch a pair of pilot programs to help small minority-owned small businesses win contracts with the transit agency.