The Illinois Senate’s Transportation Committee has been meeting since July to grapple with the thorny issue of funding for the Chicago area’s transit system and whether to replace the CTA, Metra, Pace and Regional Transportation Authority with a single agency that will oversee bus, train and paratransit services. The proposal also calls for $1.5 billion in new funding. 

The Chicago area’s public transit system is approaching the precipice of a $730 million fiscal cliff in just over a year’s time. A group of lawmakers and advocates don’t just want to plug the transit agencies’ budget hole — they’re looking to funnel $1.5 billion in additional state funding each year to create a sustainable, world-class public transportation system.

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.

The solution to the Chicago area’s public transportation woes isn’t merging CTA, Metra and Pace into a single entity — it’s finally tackling the “decades-long, discriminatory and racially charged funding policies” that have left transit agencies “fighting over scraps,” according to CTA President Dorval Carter.

Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority collectively expect to be $730 million short come 2026 and are seeking a lift from state government.

A 30-year-old Chicago man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder following a fatal Labor Day shooting on a CTA Blue Line train in suburban Forest Park. At a bond hearing Wednesday, Rhanni Davis was ordered detained pending trial.

The shooting took place before 5:30 a.m. Monday aboard a Blue Line train that was moving near where the line ends in Forest Park. A suspect was later arrested on another CTA line, according to police.

Three people were pronounced dead at the Forest Park station, an above-ground stop on the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line. The fourth victim died at a hospital.

Applause broke out Wednesday at the Chicago Transit Authority’s board meeting after directors approved a $2.93 billion contract for the design and construction of the Red Line Extension to 130th Street.

Chicago officials had planned to open a new L station near the United Center more than four years ago, but numerous delays left some neighbors wondering if it ever would happen. Construction crews scrambled to finish work this month ahead of the DNC.

The Damen ‘L’ station, located at North Damen Avenue and West Lake Street, connects a 1.5-mile gap of service that existed between the California and Ashland stations on the Green Line. The station restores rail service in the area for the first time in 76 years.

Tuesday marked the first of at least six planned hearings about overhauling Chicago-area public transit agencies, proposed as part of legislation filed in May. That plan also calls for $1.5 billion in additional funding.

The Chicago Transit Authority board of directors approved a combined daily pass allowing seamless trips across CTA, Metra and Pace. The proposal calls for daily passes ranging from $10-16 depending on how far passengers are traveling.

Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter took the fight to foes of his leadership – including the 29 alderpeople who signed on to a resolution calling for him to be replaced – at a lengthy City Council hearing on Thursday.

The Rev. Ira Acree, who was selected by Mayor Brandon Johnson to serve on the board, announced Friday he is no longer seeking that seat due to aldermanic resistance that began after he faced pointed questions during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Allies of the mayor used a parliamentary maneuver Wednesday to prevent a vote on the nomination of the Rev. Ira Acree to serve on the board of the Regional Transportation Authority, an acknowledgment they did not have the votes to confirm the politically connected pastor.