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State Lawmakers on Efforts to Merge CTA, Metra and Pace: ‘We Need a Central Agency’


With the Chicago area’s transit agencies facing a $730 million fiscal cliff, state lawmakers have been working on a plan to preserve and improve public transportation.

Perhaps the boldest idea is the pitch to do away with the CTA, Pace, Metra and RTA — and instead create an entirely new Metropolitan Mobility Authority.

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For the last several months, the state’s Senate Transportation Committee held a series of hearings on public transit, and how governance reforms and new funding could chart a new course for the Chicago area.

State Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago), chair of the Transportation Committee, and state Sen. Don DeWitt (R-St. Charles), the minority spokesperson for the Transportation Committee, joined “Chicago Tonight” to talk about the latest.

On the proposed transit merger:

Villivalam was among lawmakers supportive of the proposal that would combine the region’s transit agencies. He said it’s time to reevaluate the system that’s now 40 years old.

CTA, Pace, Metra and RTA leaders have pushed back, arguing increased funding would make a more significant impact. DeWitte said legislators, on the other hand, are in agreement with the plans to unify the agencies.

“I think we can all agree that the RTA, or the MMA, as it may be called, eventually, does have to have control over all three of those service boards who, up until this point, have all operated almost in a silo,” DeWitte said.

On funding new public transit projects:

“We need a central agency that is going to address safety, reliability, accessibility for the entire region, and that is what is lacking right now,” Villivalam said. “And before we take any vote on funding, we need to see from the agencies what service improvements and expansions will occur, and how will they be implemented, and how can we hold them accountable for all of that.”

The state senators also agreed that continued discussion with the transit agencies is needed before funding decisions can be made. With the $730 million budget shortfall in mind, DeWitte said he doesn’t anticipate any action until 2025.

On the public hearings process:

Public hearings with the Transportation Committee have generated interest across the state. DeWitte said beyond transit leaders, county officials have also engaged with the committee.

“Our mayors and county board chairmen in the suburbs want to be sure, by maintaining the service board structure, they will continue to have input into how their revenues that they are generating in the suburbs and the five collar counties are used well,” DeWitte said.


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