Metra

On August 12, Governor JB Pritzker announced the Illinois Department of Transportation's new multiyear plan, a blueprint for spending $34.6 billion on transportation infrastructure over the next six years.

On Thursday, July 8, Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined federal elected officials Senator Dick Durbin and Representative Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (IL-4) alongside state transportation officials in asking for federal funds for improvements to Chicago's Union Station and nearby tracks that would make the station a more comfortable and spacious place for passengers and reduce delays on certain Amtrak routes. 

Even amid death and trauma, people still have places to get, and public transit will, hopefully, still be there to serve them.

The full-fare pass is $100, and discounted passes for eligible seniors, K-12 students, and riders on the Metra Electric and Rock Island lines will be $70.

Engineer Philip Santos notes that upgrading the area below the bridge would be more expensive and challenging, but well worth the trouble. “There have been two fatalities here. If you’re going to fix a bridge, do it right.”

Cook County’s review of the first full year of the Fair Transit South Cook confirmed some of what Streetsblog Chicago’s earlier dive into Metra ridership numbers suggested.

The suburban bus system is already using a leased electric bus to do some field-testing. It also plans to eliminate the now-superfluous PlusBus Pass, which allows Metra monthly pass holders to ride Pace buses for an extra $30 a month.

“We’ve been growing, gentrifying, changing the North Side, and you’re endangering everything we have done,” said one neighbor.

"Transformational ideas may be controversial, but that is not an excuse to avoid them," the letter states. "We need serious and specific proposals to maintain the foundational roles transit plays."