Sen. Ram Villavalam
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In the early hours of Halloween, Illinois General Assembly passed $1.5B transit bill that’s anything but horrific. Pritzker will likely sign it.
Update Friday 10/31/25, 9:00 AM: It was scary when the Illinois General Assembly floor debate over transit legislation entered the Halloween witching hours. But thankfully it looks like we've avoided a "Nightmare on Second Street" (the roadway where the state capitol is located). Here are some features of the new legislation that passed with $1.5 billion for public transportation, raised without statewide taxes, which I gleaned from a report by Capitol News Illinois and a summary by Capitol Fax.
October 29, 2025
What’s going on? Politicians, agencies, experts, and advocates weigh in on the transit funding cliffhanger
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":
June 5, 2025
Life on the edge: Where Chicagoland transit funding stands as the spring legislative session winds down and the fiscal cliff looms
In a blog post last Thursday, the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees the three local transit agencies, once again sounded the alarm that a $771 million total fiscal transit cliff is approaching next year if action is not taken now.
May 12, 2025
