Streetsblog Chicago

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.

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.

• UChicago municipal finance expert Justin Marlowe explains, "What caused Chicago’s transit funding crisis—and what could fix it" (UChicago News)

This post is sponsored by The Bike Lane.

• "Springfield now faces the $2B question: How much to invest in transit's future" (Crain's)

• Soldier-free CTA for now? "Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s National Guard Mobilization To Chicago" (Block Club)

Yesterday, Trump's Federal Transit Administration chief Marc Molinaro scolded Chicago leaders about crime on public transportation in a Tribune op-ed titled, "The CTA has become a rolling symbol of abdication. Riders don’t feel safe." Read it on the Tribune website, Bluesky, or Twitter.

• RTA: "What transit riders are telling us: 2025 Customer Satisfaction Survey Results"

"Chicago Transit Hikes: A Guide to Getting Out in Nature without a Car" author Lindsay Welbers spent ten years living in an apartment in the Logan Square community before deciding to move. She describes Logan as a "very, very dense city-type neighborhood” that she felt was connected to nature because of all the nearby green space. For instance, she could walk to the Blue Line under tree canopy the whole way. Then she moved to Jefferson Park, which she says has more of a suburban vibe with "little postage stamp lawns."