Promoted

by Harjas Sandhu

Read the first half of this series, "Next stop, fiscal cliff: Advocates respond to Illinois legislators’ failure to fund transit before the deadline."

Last week, the Active Transportation Alliance started its 2025 Bike Commuter Challenge, presented by Keating Law Offices. (The firm is also a Streetsblog Chicago sponsor.) The first celebration station was put up on Wednesday, May 28, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the entrance to the Bloomingdale Trail, aka The 606, at Churchill Park, 1825 N. Damen Ave. in Bucktown.

After more than a year of negotiations and debate, transit revenue and reform failed to pass the state legislature by the budget deadline on Saturday, May 31. There are still options to avert the transit fiscal cliff, though they require a higher threshold to pass. Local transit agencies must dedicate significant resources to preparing for difficult service cuts in the meantime.

Good morning Streetsblog Chicago readers. I hope that as you read this, you've got a cup of strong coffee, or whatever your favorite morning beverage is, while we face the sobering outcome of Saturday's late-night Illinois General Assembly session.

This has been a hectic week for Illinois lawmakers and Chicagoland transit professionals and advocates as we try to avert the prophesied $771 budget cliff. As I type this, we're only about 33 hours away from the end of the spring legislative session, Saturday at midnight. If bills aren't passed to fund and/or reform public transportation in our region, the result will be apocalyptic service cuts and layoffs next year. Therefore, Springfield had better step up soon or, as last week's Soldier Field performers AC/DC would say, we're on the "Highway to Hell"

Photos by John Greenfield.

This is itMake no mistake where you areThis is itYou're going no furtherThis is itUntil it's over and doneThis is itOne way or another

Sadly, Chicago saw its first bike fatality of 2025 on Memorial Day, when a Hummer driver fatally struck Yader Castaneda, 18, while he was riding an electric Divvy bike-share cycle in the Loop.