* Congressional candidate calls for special session within 10 days even though nobody has anything ready to actually vote on once they get to town…

bring long overdue reforms and sustainable funding to our transit system. There is no time to waste. We must act NOW to prevent delays in service and thousands of workers from receiving pink slips! (2/2)

— Senator Mike Simmons (@SenMikeSimmons) August 20, 2025

It’s easy to say “the time is now,” when you aren’t involved in either crafting a bill or shepherding it through both chambers to reach the required three-fifths super majorities (and, notice that the Senate’s chief transit bill sponsor isn’t demanding an immediate return). This stuff doesn’t happen by magic. And, by the way, the Senate’s bill, which Sen. Fine didn’t vote for, has no chance in the House.

* Senate President Harmon talked earlier this month about a special session…

As soon as there’s an agreement on how to put this together, I will happily call the Senate back into session to vote on it. But until there’s an agreement, it’s counterproductive. […]

I worry that if we go down to Springfield without an agreement, all we’re going to do is gin up a bunch of Chicago-bashing and other counterproductive rhetoric that will dig people in deeper and make it harder for us to pass a meaningful bill that benefits the folks who take the ‘L’ or the bus.

Not to mention that if the GA does come back early, the Chicago Teachers Union will be demanding action on their fiscal agenda, which will only intensify the Chicago-bashing.

But, this empty call will probably give these three a little press bump, which is what it’s probably all about.

…Adding… The RTA is considering moving some money around to delay any cuts to the CTA, according to the Tribune…

Allocating more money to the CTA, the RTA has said, would push CTA’s fiscal cliff back two or three months until the middle of 2026, leaving more time for state lawmakers to pass long-term funding for public transit throughout the entire region.

Keep in mind that the transit systems are receiving an unexpected $150 million in new sales tax revenue this calendar year, and that will increase next year.

…Adding… CTU is already on board with the fantasy session…

The governor talked about this today…

What CTU and the mayor are talking about, which is, you know, providing another billion or billion six for Chicago public schools. That’s just not going to happen. And it’s not because we shouldn’t. We should, we should try to find the money, but we don’t have those resources today, and we’re not going to see the resources from the federal government level either.

       

27 Comments » - City Zen - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 2:39 pm: ==Not to mention that if the GA does come back early, the Chicago Teachers Union will be demanding action on their fiscal agenda== As the distinguished Admiral Ackbar once said, “It’s a trap.” - alex - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 2:44 pm: What do we get by not funding schools and transit? - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 2:52 pm: alex, are you in third grade? Also, CPS is receiving $1.9 billion from the state this fiscal year. Also too, I don’t see a mention of any funding solutions in that press release above. - Friendly Bob Adams - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 2:54 pm: They never stop looking for the magic beans. - Shytown - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:16 pm: I guess it’s officially campaign silly season in Illinois. Come on Simmons, be better. SDG will raise her hand for anything that she thinks will help CTU build allies for their $1.6 billion state ask that has no chance in hellacious to happen. - Norseman - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:20 pm: Don’t we just love those chest thumping news releases that serves one function - to make it look like the pol is actually doing something meaningful. - Joe Schmoe - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:25 pm: Headline grabber. Put some meat on the plate, then let’s talk. - alex - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:27 pm: @rich Miller are you the reason why there was so much crime? Seems like things got a lot better when we stopped listening to people like you LOL - Collar County Voice - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:29 pm: Once again, the State appears to be poised to bail out Chicago’s shortsightedness. There is a real cost associated with CTA not raising its fares to over the years, plus all the mismanagement that apparently goes on there to begin with. - alex - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:29 pm: Rich Miller is the cancer that is killing the human race - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:32 pm: alex, seek help. - Three Dimensional Checkers - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:35 pm: I will never forgive the level of just straight up gaslighting that comes from the Mayor, CTU, and their allies. Lots of real people are going to suffer over the coming months for their incompetence. - 47th Ward - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:40 pm: Hey, Senator Simmons, while you wait for the Special Session to be called, maybe encourage the CTA to use some of that $74 million to buy a mop and some cleaning supplies. - Frida's Boss - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:42 pm: Simmons will walk around and trash Hyunh, saying “I voted to save public transit, and Hyunh didn’t.” Plus, he’ll even say he called Hyunh out to stand up for public transportation. “If he can’t stand up to the Speaker how’s he going to stand up to Donald Trump.” Simmons isn’t a real legislator with problem-solving skills and negotiating techniques; he is a grifter. Appointed legislators are the worst. - 47th Ward - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:43 pm: I’m going to be late to my meeting because my shoes are stuck to the floor: - Jerry - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 3:46 pm: City Zen for the win today. Well played! - Drink at Simon's - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 4:00 pm: Does Simmons know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? That would give him an edge over Hunyh. - Juice - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 4:04 pm: Alex, the state sends waaaay more money to the RTA than the local governments in the service area. As a resident of Chicago, the State demanding accountability in exchange for even more funds when they have more skin in the game than Chicago, Cook County or the collars is totally within their purview. When it comes to CPS, about half of my property tax bill goes to schools. In just about every other part of the state, it’s between 2/3 to 3/5ths of their property taxes. So again, as a Chicago taxpayer, maybe our schools would not be in as bad of shape if we were prepared to spend more locally on our own schools. - Brandon - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 4:27 pm: Gotta love the right wingers continually talking about cta as if it is mismanaging money when the actual FACTS show that it is the most efficient transit agency in the entire COUNTRY. It does more with less than any other in the COUNTRY. We fund ours with less money from the state than every other major city. It is crazy how facts are always so different from right wing talking points. Fund transit, it benefits the entire state even those that dont use it. Just because some people arent intelligent enough to understand the benefits doesnt mean we shouldnt. - Pundent - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 4:46 pm: =Just because some people arent intelligent enough to understand the benefits doesnt mean we shouldnt.= Does Senator Simmons have a plan? I don’t disagree with the need to fund transit, but until there’s a plan on the table to actually do so calling for a special session is pointless. - JS Mill - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 4:58 pm: Chicago, Rockford, and ELgin are not owed $2 billion. Period. Those three districts get nearly as much as the rest of us combined and they are about 35% of the enrollment. Our transportation MCAT (for one) is not being fully funded this year and has not been funded fully since at least 2006. Meanwhile, CPS gets a cut right off of the top of the state transportation funding pool. So much for the “equity journey” thatthe isbe touts. - The Farm Grad - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 5:04 pm: “What do we get by not funding schools and transit? ” If we fund them on the backs of the working and middle-class, we’ll get a continued exodus from Chicagoland. We should fund them by targeting the top 1% of households - Amalia - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 5:11 pm: I’ll be impressed when the Senator calling for the special session talks about how the lakefront can absorb cuts in transit to help the entire system because there are so many opportunities for special buses and and L line within a few blocks of each other. - Red Line Rambler - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 5:12 pm: The groups that are involved negotiating the transit legislation are nowhere near an agreement. And, will not be that much closer in the next 11 days. Campaign silly season. - if apples were apples - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 5:17 pm: Didn’t we just spend a billion on a windfall pension giveaway for the cops? What about the schoolkids? - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 5:26 pm: ===Didn’t we just spend a billion=== Nope. Like the K-12 EBF program, it increases over time. Some of y’all need to upgrade your reading skills. - slippery slope - Wednesday, Aug 20, 25 @ 6:06 pm: Non scientific quick research of several districts. Chicago receives MUCH MORE of their budget from the State compared to suburban districts. Evanston/Skokie, School District 65 141MM revenue, 8.5MM state 6% state support of the budget Glenbard 87 149MM rev, 13.5MM state, 9% state support of the budget Darien 61 19MM budget, 2.1MM state, 11% state support of the budget District 211 256MM budget 15MM state 5% state support of the budget Chicago 8.5 Billion budget, 2 Billion state 23% state support of the budget TrackBack URI Anonymous commenters, uncivil comments, rumor-mongering, disinformation and profanity of any kind will be deleted. Name/Nickname - Required (required) E-mail - Not required (not required) URL - Not required