SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — With the Illinois legislature one day away from a deadline for passing the state’s budget for fiscal 2026, lawmakers have yet to decide on a way to address the looming $770 million deficit for Chicago-area transit agencies.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that state Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) has proposed funding the operations of Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and Pace bus service through a combination of moves including a 50-cent tollway surcharge, a 10% tax on rideshires, an electric vehicle charging fee, a real estate transfer tax, and redirection of some suburban sales taxes.
Villivalem said the proposal reflected the “shared sacrifice” needed to address the funding, but it was strongly criticized by suburban and labor officials, the Sun-Times reports. One official in DuPage County called the plan “punitive;” another said it “steals $72 million in DuPage tax revenue.” Even Villivalem acknowledged the ideas would need to be amended if a funding bill was to be passed by the midnight Saturday deadline.
The funding question remains after legislation was introduced that would restructure Chicago’s transit agencies, with a new Northern Illinois Transit Authority replacing the current Regional Transit Authority. The new agency would control the budgets and fare decisions of Metra, the CTA, and Pace, but would not result in a merger of the four agencies into a single body, as had been proposed earlier [see “Illinois lawmakers’ last-minute bill …,” Trains News Wire, May 29, 2025].
The RTA and the operating agencies have said that without funding to address the shortfall, transit service from all three operators will face a 40% cut in service, including drastic reductions in Metra frequencies and suspension of service on four of the eight CTA rail lines [see “Chicago transit agencies paint dire picture …,” News Wire, March 21, 2025].
Share this article
