John Greenfield

• Cue the song "Eye of the Tiger." Here's a pep talk from Active Trans: "The push for transit funding and reform in Illinois continues"

• Tribune Editorial Board 4/27: Transit agencies are "frantically," "panic stoking," and "begging legislators for money" to address the "so-called fiscal cliff."

• More coverage of "The Night the Transit Funding Bill Didn't Go Down in Springfield": (CapitolFax, Sun-Times, Block Club, Crain's, Trains, Herald, Axios)

Good morning Streetsblog Chicago readers. I hope that as you read this, you've got a cup of strong coffee, or whatever your favorite morning beverage is, while we face the sobering outcome of Saturday's late-night Illinois General Assembly session.

This has been a hectic week for Illinois lawmakers and Chicagoland transit professionals and advocates as we try to avert the prophesied $771 budget cliff. As I type this, we're only about 33 hours away from the end of the spring legislative session, Saturday at midnight. If bills aren't passed to fund and/or reform public transportation in our region, the result will be apocalyptic service cuts and layoffs next year. Therefore, Springfield had better step up soon or, as last week's Soldier Field performers AC/DC would say, we're on the "Highway to Hell"

• Highway to the danger zone: "Cuts To CTA Could Begin Soon If State Doesn’t Fill $770 Million Budget Gap" (Block Club)

Photos by John Greenfield.

• More coverage of new state bill to replace RTA, reduce Chicago mayor's control of CTA, w/o funding solution (WTTW, Crain's, NBC)

Sadly, Chicago saw its first bike fatality of 2025 on Memorial Day, when a Hummer driver fatally struck Yader Castaneda, 18, while he was riding an electric Divvy bike-share cycle in the Loop.

• Johnson urges "expediency" in addressing CTA fiscal cliff, wants funding increase and governance reform: "My position is we have to do both." (Tribune)