Streetsblog Chicago
Top Categories
Myron Levin’s documentary “Power Trip” looks at the the media culture around dangerous driving. Join SBC for a screening on Sunday 11/16.
The film "Power Trip," written and directed by Myron Levin, discusses how films, video games, and automobile ads glamorize the kind of high-risk driving that kills people and tears families apart. While the number of traffic deaths is falling in other affluent nations, American crash fatalities rose to over 40,000 a year, with speed a factor in 30 percent of the cases. "The film is dedicated to the memory of crash victims everywhere, to their grieving families, and to those working to end the slaughter on our roads," its website states.
November 6, 2025
NITA celebrate? Hailing a historic win: the Northern Illinois Transit Authority and $1.5B in funding to save and upgrade service
New York City dominated the headlines today after electing Zohran Mamdani as mayor. But it wasn't the only big U.S. city that's made history in the past week.
November 5, 2025
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
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
Today’s Headlines for Tuesday, October 21
• UChicago municipal finance expert Justin Marlowe explains, "What caused Chicago’s transit funding crisis—and what could fix it" (UChicago News)
October 21, 2025
Take a virtual ride on the new, currently spooky, Argyle-Winnemac Greenway between Lake Michigan and the Chicago River
This post is sponsored by The Bike Lane.
October 18, 2025
Today’s Headlines for Tuesday, October 14
• "Springfield now faces the $2B question: How much to invest in transit's future" (Crain's)
October 14, 2025
Today’s Headlines for Friday, October 10
• Soldier-free CTA for now? "Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s National Guard Mobilization To Chicago" (Block Club)
October 10, 2025
Yes, CTA needs to be and feel safer. But despite what the U.S. transit czar implied, Trump shouldn’t use that as an excuse to send in National Guard.
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.
September 30, 2025
Today’s Headlines for Monday, September 22
• RTA: "What transit riders are telling us: 2025 Customer Satisfaction Survey Results"
September 22, 2025
