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CTA board approves budget, lauds new transit bill. Car activist Roger Romanelli makes a disingenuous Grand Avenue bus lane proposal.
The general reporting on the meeting is by Igor Studenkov, and the commentary on the Grand Avenue project is by John Greenfield.
November 12, 2025
Partying like it’s 2026: Officials and dozens of advocates celebrated next year’s rosier transit picture, talked BRT, over pints at Beguile Brewery
In a recent post, SBC contributor Richard Day argued that it's time to move past rejoicing in the passage of the robust transit reform and funding bill that will save local bus and train service, and start getting to work on optimizing the win. "This is the last, best chance we have to deliver the sort of transformative transit system the region deserves," he noted. "We can’t afford to waste it."
November 11, 2025
We haven’t saved transit yet: What comes after the fiscal cliff
This piece also runs on the website A City That Works, a newsletter about public policy in the Chicago region.
November 10, 2025
We asked Mayor Johnson about the transit win, Leerhsen’s future, saving the bus station, and whether he’ll send a care package to Philly
Streetsblog has interviewed just about all the key players in the surprising win for local sustainable transportation, when state lawmakers passed a transit reform/funding bill in the wee hours of October 31, aka the "Halloween Miracle." (Governor JB Pritzker, if you're reading this, call me maybe?)
November 7, 2025
Lovefest at today’s RTA board meeting, as directors nix 2026 fare hikes, agency prepares to ride off into sunset to make way for NITA
The October 23 Regional Transit Authority board meeting, in the midst of Springfield's fall veto session on the brink of the transit fiscal cliff, was a contentious affair. It was basically a Spiderman Pointing Circle of people blaming each other for the dire straits Chicagoland transit was facing.
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
Another one rides the bus: Johnson administration announces they will permanently save Greyhound station by purchasing and rehabbing it
In September 2024, the future of Chicago intercity bus service wasn't looking particularly bright. Greyhound owner FlixBus barely escaped being evicted from its station, 630 W. Harrison St. in the West Loop, by getting a month-to-month lease. It was good that the facility didn't immediately close, which would have kicked riders to the curb, literally, but its future was in limbo.
November 5, 2025
“Trib-splaining”: Lawmakers, CTAction clap back against yet another naysaying Tribune editorial about the transit reform/funding bill
On Halloween, a Crain's editorial did a fine job of summing up the stressful, but ultimately successful, legislative process that led to the Illinois General Assembly passing a robust transit reform/funding bill earlier that morning. "A long night yields long-overdue action on transit" is definitely the best op-ed I've seen on the topic in the mainstream press since last Friday.
November 4, 2025
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, sponsor of the Senate transit bill, discusses the “Halloween Miracle” that allowed robust reform and funding to pass
On Friday morning, October 31, Streetsblog interviewed Illinois House Majority Leader Eva-Dina Delgado. She was operating on minimal sleep after staying up until 5 a.m. for the passage of the $1.5 billion transit reform/funding bill at the state capitol. But she was also in a celebratory mood. The legislation she co-sponsored with Rep. Kam Buckner had finally crossed the finish line, not only saving Chicagoland transit, but also paving the way for first-class regional and Downstate bus and train service.
November 3, 2025
