Mere days before the end of the legislative session, Illinois state representatives filed a transit reform bill Wednesday that would alter the governing structure of the Chicago area public transportation system without addressing its looming fiscal cliff.
Later that day, an alternative proposal was filed in the state Senate that would similarly remake the system — while addressing the budgetary shortfall.
If passed, both bills would replace the Regional Transportation Authority, which currently oversees the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace and Metra lines, with a new agency called the Northern Illinois Transit Authority. Under the House bill’s “one network, one timetable, one ticket model,” NITA would be tasked with creating a universal fare system and ensuring coordination among service providers.
But that measure would not remedy the $770 million fiscal cliff that Chicago area transit operators are expected to face next year as federal COVID-19 pandemic relief subsidies run out. If this deficit is not addressed, transit agencies have warned they would institute severe service cuts.
The Senate bill incorporates similar ideas while also offering funding solutions. These include increasing the price of Illinois tollways by 50 cents, imposing a public electric vehicle charging station fee and extending rideshare and real estate transfer taxes to more Chicago area residents. The bill also proposes transit agency staff cuts.
These plans join two contentious proposals that have dominated legislative debates surrounding transit reform this year: the RTA’s plan to expand its own oversight and the Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act, which has been championed by transit advocates but criticized by labor unions who oppose consolidation.
The new reform bills combine elements of both earlier proposals by establishing a unified agency without completely eliminating the CTA, Pace and Metra in an effort to preserve their existing collective bargaining agreements.
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