SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Senate has passed legislation requiring state transportation agencies to issue annual reports detailing any recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board and providing status reports on implementation of those recommendations.
The bill, which passed by a 59-0 vote on Friday, was introduced by state Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) in response to the Nov. 16, 2023, Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line crash that saw 16 people taken to hospital with injuries [see “CTA train was in emergency braking …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 12, 2023] and led to a 50-day closure of the Yellow Line, the 4.7-mile, three-station CTA branch also known as the Skokie Swift.
SB3451 would require the CTA; Metra; their parent agency, the Regional Transportation Authority; and the Illinois Department of Transportation to deliver the annual reports by Dec. 31 each year. They would have to be viewable via each agency’s website, as well as delivered to the Illinois General Assembly.
“Rail accidents can be prevented if our rail transit systems are regularly implementing federal safety recommendations and keeping those up to date and viewable to the riding public,” Simmons, whose district includes the site of the Yellow Line accident, said in a press release. “I want rail transit riders to feel safe as they commute. As a regular rider of CTA myself, I know how important it is that riders have confidence that the rail system is reliable and will safely and smoothly get them to where they need to be.”
The bill now moves to the House for further action.
More “feel good” legislation from the Illinois General Assembly that’s going to cost Agencies time and money to comply. The legislature must think that service providers aren’t interested in the safety of the traveling public.