Illinois

Let's get real: Illinois has a looming public transportation crisis on our hands. Federal COVID-19 subsidy money, which has kept the CTA, Pace, and Metra running despite lower post-pandemic ridership, is projected to run out by 2026. How can we dodge this transit fiscal cliff in Chicagoland, the metro region where roughly three-quarters of Prairie State residents live? Here are some possibilities that have been discussed:

Last Sunday, about 50 riders drew the outline of the Land of Lincoln by bicycling along Chicago's Historic Boulevard system.

The service levels on state-supported routes depend on how much money each state department of transportation is willing to pay.

This post is part of a series featuring stories and research that will be presented at the Pro-Walk/Pro-Bike/Pro-Place conference September 8-11 in Pittsburgh.

Last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed its transportation bill. The bill is a blueprint for spending $265 billion on surface transportation over six years. It doesn't include transit or rail provisions yet, and no funding source has been found for it. Streetsblog wanted to hear from a local official about how this bill would affect their community, so we spoke to Mayor Chris Koos of Normal, Illinois. Koos, who owns a bike shop in town, has served 11 years as mayor and is a member of Transportation for America’s advisory board.