John Greenfield

On Halloween, a Crain's editorial did a fine job of summing up the stressful, but ultimately successful, legislative process that led to the Illinois General Assembly passing a robust transit reform/funding bill earlier that morning. "A long night yields long-overdue action on transit" is definitely the best op-ed I've seen on the topic in the mainstream press since last Friday.

• "IL Speaker Welch [read our interview with him] talks immigration, transit bills on way to Gov. Pritzker" (ABC)

On Friday morning, October 31, Streetsblog interviewed Illinois House Majority Leader Eva-Dina Delgado. She was operating on minimal sleep after staying up until 5 a.m. for the passage of the $1.5 billion transit reform/funding bill at the state capitol. But she was also in a celebratory mood. The legislation she co-sponsored with Rep. Kam Buckner had finally crossed the finish line, not only saving Chicagoland transit, but also paving the way for first-class regional and Downstate bus and train service.

• Crain's: "Editorial: A long night yields long-overdue action on transit"

• "Illinois celebrates a historic win for public transit" (Active Trans)

"If I get home before daylightI just might get some sleep tonight"

Sadly, on Friday afternoon, the driver of a sedan fatally struck Maximiliano Lemus Jr., 72, in Little Village and fled the scene.

• More coverage of Pritzker playing Sir Thomas Bringdown III re: the House transit bill (Trib, Evanston Roundable, WTTW, WGN, CBS, NBC, Bloomberg)

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.

• Illinois Policy is back on their... ridiculousness, demanding upgrades to transit that are already in bill, while rejecting new revenue sources to fund them