New York City dominated the headlines today after electing Zohran Mamdani as mayor. But it wasn't the only big U.S. city that's made history in the past week.
On Halloween, everyone in the Chicagoland sustainable transportation world – officials, workers, riders, and advocates – collectively breathed a sigh of relief when Springfield lawmakers passed a robust transit reform and funding bill. With $1.5 billion allocated annually, we averted the dreaded fiscal cliff that would required massive layoffs and service cuts at the CTA, Pace, and Metra.
Along with the funding, transit-friendly legislators fulfilled their "No funding without reform" vow by passing a law to replace the current Regional Transportation Authority with a more powerful Northern Illinois Transit Authority. The three main architects of the bill were Sen. Ram Villivalam, Rep. Kam Buckner, and Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado. Villivalam, Delgado, other politicians, and transit advocates gathered to celebrate the historic win Monday at the Old Post Office, 433 West Van Buren Street.
Many of the speakers at the press event highlighted their own personal connections to transit and what upgrading service will mean for Chicagoland residents. For instance, State Sen. Robert Peters said that he loves public transportation so much that when visiting in Los Angeles, he's ridden it from South Bay to West Hollywood to see a movie, which his in-laws find very confusing.
"It’s because I really believe that transit is the heart, part of the community," he said. "That you can see people in their lives, that you can feel them. You know that they may be going through something good, bad, or whatever, and they’re doing that in a sense of community, not in isolation. When you’re stuck in traffic, having a bad day, you are in isolation. Going through it, you get angry. The isolation becomes very clear. But when you’re having a bad day, maybe you see a piece of art riding a train. Maybe you see some public art that makes you feel a sense of life."
?State Sen. Celina Villanueva, said that as someone who grew up in Chicago, she knows how normal it is to get around via public transportation. As kid, her transit trip from her home on the Southwest Side to school in Hyde Park required multiple bus and train legs.
??She discussed how important reliable transit is to her constituents, because a long wait for a ride due to a "ghost bus" that is on the CTA schedule but never shows up can have major consequences. "The difference is... somebody potentially losing their job," she said. "The difference is a domestic violence survivor who is working with an organization to get out of a violent situation. The difference is a young person trying to make a track meet or trying to go to work in order to help pay the bills at home. The difference is that everyday life being impacted if a bus or train doesn’t arrive."
She added that most people won’t remember the names of the leaders that got the bill passed. "They won’t remember that it was a really dedicated group of people who were trying to get this deal done. And some people will lambast it and say, 'Well this is just a money grab.' The reality is this. We did this work because we wanted to make life easier and better for people."
?State Sen. Mike Simmons, whose district is on the Far North Side of Chicago, also spoke about being a Chicago kid using transit, and wanting to make sure the next generation of Chicago kids can access the opportunities he did. He said his mother had to ride two buses to work because the family couldn’t afford a car.
"Another things in this legislation that I'm really proud of is the fact that we're going to have bus rapid transit systems," said Simmons added. "We were able to get language to this legislation that puts us on the path to finally deploying BRT. And that's been something that's been really important in my district, where community members want to see not just the transit system we have right now, but the next generation of transit, and this legislation is going to get us there."
During the Q&A, Villivalam and Delgado were asked whether fare increases were still scheduled for February 1 and whether transit agencies should still proceed with them. "My message to the transit agencies would be that this legislation [kicks in on] June 1 of 2026, so have a year of stabilizing and investing in the system, and then after that year, they can look to fair adjustments," Villivalam said. "I believe it's irresponsible to look at fare increases at this particular moment, because we need to ensure that this is a system that is safe, reliable, accessible, and integrated for the million-plus people that use it every day."
The RTA recently stated, "For 2026, transit riders and frontline employees can expect no service cuts, no fare increases pending RTA Board action this Thursday."
"The best way to help fund the system is more riders, and the best way to make the system bette and safer is more riders," Villivalam concluded. And so that is the route that we are pursuing with this legislation."
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