SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Chicago-area transit operations will face draconian cuts to service in the next fiscal year after Illinois legislators on Saturday passed a new state budget without addressing the $770 million shortfall for the Regional Transit Authority and its three operating agencies.
While the state Senate passed a transit bill, HB3438, that had been amended to address funding, the House adjourned without debating or voting on the proposal. While the legislature could still address funding during a special session in October or November, that will likely not be in time to avoid the planned 40% cuts in service and layoff of up to 3,000 jobs, Streetsblog Chicago reports.
RTA spokeswoman Tina Fassett Smith, in a series of social media posts, indicated that preparation on those cuts will now begin.
“Balancing regional interests is challenging,” she wrote, “but we are ready to continue our work to achieve consensus and deliver a solution. In the coming weeks, the RTA will work with the Service Boards on a regional budget that by law must only include funding we are confident the system will receive in 2026.”
Earlier this year, the RTA outlined the constraints Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and Pace bus service would face under that funding. [See “Chicago transit agencies paint dire picture …,” News Wire, March 21, 2025]. For Metra, projections are that morning and late evening trains would be eliminated; trains would run hourly on weekdays and every two hours on weekends, and service on the Metra Electric’s seven-station Blue Island branch would eliminated. CTA rail service would be suspended on four of eight rail lines, with 50 stations closed or seeing drastically reduced service, while other lines would see frequencies cut by 10% to 25%.
Even if funding is ultimately restored, the RTA has warned that the impact of the cuts will be enduring. On lines Metra shares with freight railroads, cuts on lines shared with freight railroads could take up to five years to undo.
Reductions would require “rigorous public engagement and analysis before making any final decisions … which would include public hearings through the fall of the year with actual cuts being implemented throughout 2026,” the RTA said in its March release.
The shortfall has developed through a series of developments including reduced farebox recovery, reflecting lower ridership following work-at-home policies introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic; an end of federal funding to help offset those losses; and increasing costs. The problem is not unique to Chicago and Illinois; transit systems in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas are among others facing major service reductions unless state legislators address budget deficits.
— This is a developing story. Follow Trains News Wire for more information as it becomes available.
FWIW: Illinois is withholding the transfer of the motor fuel sales tax to the transporation lockbox as defined by the constitution. They reportedly said the transfer is “just being delayed”. LOL.
If it’s any consolation, “Lawmakers did not appropriate funding for the Chicago Bears to build a new stadium.”
Well, that part is good, Chris. Thanks for informing us.
Anyone notice that these taxpayer-funded stadiums (or theme parks) keep getting bigger, more elaborate, exponentially more expensive? Seems that in Illinois, the concept finally jumped the shark.
They may also need to adjust to post-Covid travel by running weekend schedules on Friday too, etc.
Decision makers probably wanted to delay in order to make RTA/CTA/Metra spell out specific plans for service cuts. My guess is that the ultimate solution will have to be some cuts, some fare increases, and some new taxes.
By the way. Illinois legislators voted themselves a 5% raise yesterday.
CTA gobbles up most of the transit funds in the Chicago area, yet the proposals so far are going to be paid by the suburbanites. The make up of the new board is so favorably loaded for Chicago and the rest of Cook County. Suburban votes will be useless.
You might think so but that’s not really true. The CTA has the highest fare recovery ratio so CTA passengers are paying more on a per mile basis than Metra.
Metra lowered their fares this February. The CTA did not.
Unfortunately, Metra was a good idea that has outlived its usefulness. Only 60 percent of the original customer base still uses it. How many private sector businesses could survive a drop in patronage like that without a massive restructuring (or bankruptcy). Sounds like the definition of obsolete to me.
Maybe RTA/Metra can lease some of those shiny new bi-level cars to Amtrak to help replace the ill-fated Horizon fleet.
Transportation services CANNOT cut their way to prosperity. They can only cut their way to needing further cuts.
Oh and BTW, if the work force shrinks, the number of pensioners does not. Doom loop death spiral.
I can assume only 1 thing is going to happen…Illinois House members are going to return to their districts and see which one has more weight, political donations from the various transporatation and rail related unions OR complaints from their constituents about lack of services.
Certainly the constituents have voted with their work from home feet. Let’s see how it holds up.
This is why you can’t rely on legislators for your funding.