Active Transportation Alliance

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.

On Tuesday, I hopped on my bicycle and high-tailed it from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois, the state capital, in an effort to sample my first-ever horseshoe sandwich. In case you're not familiar with that delicacy, it's an open-faced sandwich composed of thick-sliced toast, a protein (often hamburger patties, but there are several other options), cheese sauce, and french fries. It's an indigenous dish of Flower City and, as far as I know, it's no longer available in the Windy City.

Last Friday's transit talk, "Averting the Cliff: The Road to Regional & High-Speed Rail" was supposed to feature State Rep. Kam Buckner, co-leader of the House's Public Transit Working Group, but he couldn't make it. So the question of who would take his place was a bit of a cliffhanger: Who would fill Buckner's Nikes?

The Active Transportation Alliance and Ride Illinois held a Suburban Advocacy Connect session over Zoom on Wednesday, October 8th. Besides the updates on ATA and Ride Illinois, this latest meeting also included a market research presentation about gathering and expanding support for transit.

Last month, when I interviewed State Rep. Kam Buckner about efforts to address the looming $771 million Chicagoland transit fiscal cliff, he noted that the discussion of the topic in the media has been something of a "boy's club." (Today, Buckner and I talked some more about this subject with Outside the Loop Radio's Mike Stephen on a show airing this Saturday morning, which doesn't undermine that argument.)

The program, sponsored by Ald. Matt Martin (47th), and researched by Police District Council members, could start as early as this winter.

Streetsblog also talked to Envision Unlimited about its adaptive cycling program, which empowered people with special needs to enjoy riding on a car-free DLSD.

Today at Union Station, a coalition of transit, labor and environmental advocates held a rally to "Fix and Fund Public Transit," demanding that Illinois lawmakers reconvene and provide full funding for public transportation. Speakers called for a special summer session to pass a bill that would rescue Chicagoland transit from some 40 percent service cuts and 3,000 layoffs.

If you're a frequent Streetsblog Chicago, when it comes to the current public transportation fiscal crisis, this ain't your first bus rodeo. Otherwise, here's our coverage of the issue since last Saturday, May 31, aka "The Night Transit Funding Didn't Go Down In Springfield":