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* Talia Soglin and Jeremy Gorner at the Chicago Tribune…
For months, Chicagoland’s transit agencies have sounded an alarm: If lawmakers don’t plug a looming $771 million budget gap, they warned, residents will experience drastic service cuts on the CTA, Metra and Pace next year.
Over the weekend, Illinois lawmakers adjourned their spring legislative session without passing legislation that would avert the fiscal cliff.
The Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees CTA, Metra and Pace, has warned that it will have to start planning for dramatic cuts to transit service. […]
Here’s what Chicagoans need to know about the future of transit service in the metro area.
What follows is a sober, calm, fact-based story about what’s about to happen. It’s most definitely worth a full read.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 9:15 am
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CTA, Metra, and Pace should cut service asap and start layoffs - This head in the sand approach by lawmakers will only be solved when residents get upset.
Comment by Chicagonk Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 9:36 am
All those service cuts are bound to have a negative impact on the economy.
Comment by low level Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 9:39 am
== sober, calm, fact-based story ==
Thankfully, we get that a lot from Jeremy Gorner.
Hard to build support for the tax measures when the threats of cuts are kinda vague. When the service boards actually name the specific elimination of routes, legislators will feel more heat to act.
And some of the costs are gonna have to be covered by increases at the fare box, which the transit activists and their allied legislators have resisted so far.
Comment by Tammy Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 9:51 am
As someone who relies on public transit, the way this played out is incredibly frustrating. The service cuts will be devastating for Chicago. I really hope to see a special session called ASAP.
Comment by SAW Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 9:51 am
It did come with a fare increase. That was one of the revenue generators, estimated at about 50 million total.
All these different groups complaining about taxes to fund this seem to not be able to see past tomorrow. Not funding our transit here would result in higher costs to EVERYONE down the line. Not funding our transit system is not an option. In the end they will get it done. It may not be the 1.5 billion needed to make things even better, but I have zero doubts we will in the worst case, fund it enough to avoid any cuts.
Comment by Brandon Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 9:56 am
==This head in the sand approach by lawmakers will only be solved when residents get upset.==
This has already happened. People are already upset. The drawback to having one-party rule, with the other party not particularly interested in trying to present an alternative, is that there’s no incentive to provide good services. My recommendation is to just discontinue the CTA, refund every dollar to citizens pro rata, and then try again in ten years if people want it.
Comment by Garfield Ridge Guy Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 9:57 am
The spiking of the football the last few days (and aggressive comments) from the gov has given me no confidence this gets resolved.
Genuinely worried that about the future of the city — and because the state IS the city, I’m worried about the state.
Comment by SwSider Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 10:10 am
The lack of leadership from the Mayor’s Office is very disappointing. It is a major problem for the City. I guess I do not have much leverage though since my opinion of MBJ cannot fall any lower.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 10:13 am
The Transit Agencies managed themselves into this crisis and fully expected Springfield to bail them out.
Springfield isn’t biting.
Comment by Southside Sam Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 10:15 am
@ThreeDimensional - You can’t blame the mayor for Springfield not passing a bill.
Comment by Chicagonk Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 10:22 am
==Not funding our transit system is not an option.==
We’ve never not funded it. It just hasn’t been prioritized.
Comment by City Zen Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 10:27 am
Promoting a stable public transportation system has been a political football for more than a century. Calls for financial bail outs are commonplace.
Last week, I spent some time with a former Illinois resident who used the CTA trains to commute to and from O’Hare Airport. He was upset to see that the train cars have been co-opted by homeless persons who are living on the trains.
Comment by Bus Token Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 11:14 am
should be a combination of fare increases, new revenue source/s, and cuts. a simple look at the L system near bus lines on the Northside, and two lines very close together on the Southside show that cuts can be made. do not let the need for money stop a look at how the CTA is managed.
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 11:40 am
Service cuts throughout the Chicago metro area would be drastic if the legislature doesn’t take further action, transit agencies have warned.
Read the article……lot of …could……maybe…..we don’t exactly know where the cuts will be….from the same organizations that managed the combined transit systems into this mess……no sympathy or appetite to help buy them out of their problems with my tax dollars.
Comment by It's always Sunny in Illinois Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 12:15 pm
The Fiscal cliff in the RTA region is $771M
The downstate transportation fiscal need is $80M. The revenue package generated $1.6B.
Looks like there is approximately $750M to transform the system without ANY boundaries on where that money is spent, and Brandon Johnson currently in charge
Comment by Routine Commenter Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 1:31 pm
====without ANY boundaries on where that money is spent===
Where did you come up with that conclusion?
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 1:32 pm
All the $ goes to GRF
Comment by Routine Commenter Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 1:38 pm
Does anyone know where the audits are for the CTA and RTA?
I looked on the Auditor General’s website and the last audits posted were in 2005. They were very brief, almost rubber-stampish.
Comment by 40,000 ft Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 3:15 pm
There needs to be a complete review of the transit system. There are definitely inefficiencies and waste that could be found. And I agree with 40,000 ft, where are the audits. Throwing more money at a failing system doesn’t fix the problem but only keeps it going until more money is needed.
Comment by Just a Citizen Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 4:09 pm
https://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/6/CTA_Financial_Statements_2023.pdf
https://assets.metra.com/s3fs-public/2024-12/Metra-Financial-Statements-Year-Ended-December-31-2023.pdf?VersionId=OXeaOBn8WI1bqaJ6WaGCUahbXl04f2sr
Not that hard to find.
Comment by Phineas Tuesday, Jun 3, 25 @ 5:27 pm