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The legislative session in Springfield has begun, with a significant focus on a proposed transit funding bill that lawmakers are keen to address.
Illinois legislators face a tight deadline to approve the transit bill, which is crucial to avoiding significant reductions in public transportation services across the Chicago area.
As the General Assembly’s veto session progresses, there’s a concerted effort to push the transit bill forward by Wednesday, though its passage remains uncertain.
The House currently holds a draft of the bill, which they are attempting to reconcile with a version the Illinois Senate approved during the spring session.
If enacted, the transit bill would avert considerable service cutbacks and job losses at the CTA, Metra, and Pace transit systems.
People lobbying for lawmakers to pass a funding bill say the clock is ticking.
“We will start seeing hiring freezes in the first quarter of 2026 all the way leading to service cuts by the middle of next year, if we don’t fix this now. So we really can’t wait till spring legislative session,” Audrey Wennink of the Metropolitan Planning Council, said.
For now, it appears a retail delivery tax to find transit appears to be off the table, but Republicans are still concerned about the specific details of the tax.
The last day of the veto session is Thursday.