With CTA, Metra and Pace expected to have a combined $730 million budget deficit starting in 2026, state lawmakers passed a measure charging the regional planning agency CMAP to think big and come up with a plan.

Unprecedented regional coordination, $1.5 billion in new annual funding and a push to transform service and draw in more riders than ever. Those are just some of the ambitious ideas up for debate as part of an effort to create a bold new vision for public transit in the Chicago area.

The CTA says in July of 2023, it delivered an average of 88% of scheduled rail service, compared to 71% in August of last year. And it says it delivered 96% of bus service this July, compared to 81% last August.

In Chicago, neighborhoods with higher shares of residents of color retained far more ridership than predominantly white communities—and that trend was similar in other cities. 

The president hopes to use the infrastructure law to build back his popularity, which has taken a hit amid rising inflation and the inability to fully shake the public health and economic risks from COVID-19.

Nearly 80,000 people left Illinois last year, according to just-released data estimates. In the past decade, nearly a quarter million people have moved.

Erin Aleman doesn’t have a crystal ball, but she has a pretty good idea of what Chicago and the surrounding area will look like 30 years from now.

It is perhaps Chicago’s most iconic roadway, and it’s certainly among the busiest. Could dedicating a lane to buses ease congestion on Lake Shore Drive?