Transit bill fallout: “Laborers’ International Union of North America, #LiUNA, is ending its affiliation with the Illinois AFL-CIO. LiUNA officials were unhappy about the way AFL-CIO officials handled negotiations on the transit bill at the end of October.” capitolnewsillinois.com/news/from-ne...

NEWS: Internal Homeland Security documents on 600+ detainees to be released prove that the vast majority of immigrants detained in Chicago area are "low" public safety risk, even by the government's loose standards. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/14/o...

This Toronto region rail transit map by a talented @rtachicago.bsky.social part-timer shows how that region is building out "crosstown" lines across the region. Rough analogues in the Chicago region would be the Cicero Avenue and suburban STAR Line corridors. www.blogto.com/city/2025/11...

whispers: this is the path to abundance.

“Metra, Pace and CTA will be folded under the umbrella of the newly formed Northern Illinois Transit Authority moving forward, and all three agencies have confirmed this week that they will not implement fare hikes for the year 2026.” www.nbcchicago.com/traffic/tran...

The Chicago-hub Amtrak service is outperforming many other U.S. regions in ridership growth. will.illinois.edu/21stshow/sto...

Illinois transit reform bill: “Illinois state lawmakers just removed minimum parking space requirements for developments near transit hubs [and transit corridors], a major win for housing affordability and production statewide.” www.illinoispolicy.org/housing-gets...

"Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone who was arrested. Nor have they revealed any evidence showing that two immigrants arrested in the building belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, or even provided their names."

The City of Chicago's just released Strategic Plan for Transportation: Year 4 Update can be found here: www.chicago.gov/content/dam/... #CDOT

World record apparently set on @chicagocta.bsky.social. Surely there will be challengers from here. blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/13/3...

Emerging rift between @rtachicago.bsky.social and @chicagocta.bsky.social over funding flows and timing of service improvements in anticipation of implementation of the transit reform bill? chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/12/c...

“State Rep. Travis Weaver is still sore that some of Central Illinois’ tax dollars were used to fix Chicago’s transit problems.” www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-n...

Good recap @jaredbrey.bsky.social. www.governing.com/transportati...

"Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 4 yrs after: —Construction cost inflation ate up most of the increased spending; —There was no move to increase support for transit—in fact, there appears to have been a greater focus on highways; and -- Funding for non-highway projects flatlined." @yonahfreemark.com

The 2026 @chicagocta.bsky.social budget reverses a proposed 10% fare increase but does maintain some $60 million in cost savings previously identified. It also makes permanent the regional day pass allowing a single, discounted 24-hour fare across CTA, Metra and Pace. news.wttw.com/2025/11/12/c...

What accounts for the persistence of traffic congestion in the face of people doing more things virtually? www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/07/t...

The post-pandemic trend is the exact opposite of what the chart title says, but IPI’s not going to let facts get in the way of their preferred narrative

Moody’s Ratings said it may upgrade the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority’s debt after the state legislature moved to eliminate the public-transit system’s budget shortfalls. www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/moo...

Critique of funding mechanisms in the Illinois transit reform bill. Note that the Illinois Tollway’s passenger vehicle tolls have not increased since 2012. (Freight vehicle tolls have been inflation-indexed.) www.illinoispolicy.org/transit-fare...

London's failed move to per mile road charging: "A brief period of political weakness led the mayor to abandon a policy that could have radically changed London – boosting public transport, improving the health of Londoners, and cleaning up the city’s air." www.londoncentric.media/p/london-roa...

Overview of the Illinois transit reform bill by @rtachicago.bsky.social. www.rtachicago.org/blog/2025/11...

Truckers not happy that the Illinois transit reform bill includes a 30% increase in tolls for freight vehicles. landline.media/illinois-law...

The 2025 transit reform package will suffer the same fate as the 2008 reforms unless new leadership breaks out of the old institutional mold and embraces global best practices argues @rsday.bsky.social.

Wow, I wonder if there’s any part of the massive NITA bill that deals with this specific issue that would’ve been noteworthy to include in this article about a lack of sidewalks between a trip generator and a high-frequency suburban bus route

This idea is so gosh darn out there... it just might work! "Crosstowners: Regional rail for Chicagoland" yard-social.com/crosstowners/ @starlinechicago.bsky.social

New York City voters approved a raft of housing measures that streamline permitting and eliminate the “unofficial veto” that individual city council members had over housing projects in their districts. Cf. #AldermanicPrerogative www.planetizen.com/news/2025/11...

It's time for all good citizens to pick up a snow shovel and clear space around their nearest bus stops because both municipalities and private landowners don't #PlowTheSidewalks. Indeed, they sometimes dump snow in bus stop areas. Query: Is municipal failure to clear bus stops an #ADA issue?

This could have been Illinois had the ILGA not passed the transit reform/funding bill. PA unlike IL has a Republican bloc with sufficient power to block add'l transit operating funding, forcing SEPTA and other PA agencies to use capital funds for operations. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/11/10/t...

Op-ed by Howard Learner @elpcenter.bsky.social on how the new Illinois transit legislation should be implemented in the Chicago region: One ticket system; safety first; prioritize well; infill stations and regional rail solutions; and Tollway accountability. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/10/o...

Flat $1.25 retail delivery fee being proposed for Chicago w/exemptions that include restaurant deliveries. Proponents might consider a variable fee--higher during peak traffic times; lower off-peak. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...

Mayor Johnson on transit bill: "If we're centering our work around the interest of working people and allow those demands and those hopes to be the center of our delivery of government, we're always in a better, stronger position to make the right investment." chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/07/w...

The Bus Priority Corridor Study is a major next step toward implementation of the Better Streets for Buses Plan—a framework developed by CTA and CDOT to enhance the bus riding experience. We're exploring ways to improve bus lanes, sidewalks, and signals.

Tariffs to exacerbate the shortage of transit capital funds in the Chicago region: “For every 10 buses purchased, the cost of another bus has been spent on tariffs alone, a consideration that agencies will have to take into account when making purchase orders.” www.masstransitmag.com/management/n...

David Greising: Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back on the transit bill. He needs to do that with pensions.

“CTA was the only agency in Springfield that put together a budget to show what we would do if we got additional funding beyond the bare minimum.” 👏 CTA bus, rail, and other improvements on the way. chicago.suntimes.com/fran-spielma...

Short and heartening history of the transformation of the Chicago River from an urban sewer. Next up, use the Chicago River initiative as a model for reclaiming acres of parkland from the lakefront expressway? #DLSD sustainabilitydialogue.uchicago.edu/news/chicago...

"San Francisco leaders are rallying to create legislation that puts checks on the autonomous Waymo vehicles after one of the cars killed a neighborhood cat nicknamed, KitKat." thehill.com/policy/energ...

"A stunning 84 percent of transit measures on the ballot in 2025 so far have won, grossing an estimated $11.7 billion in known transit revenue." usa.streetsblog.org/2025/11/06/t...

Directors @rtachicago.bsky.social hail passage of Illinois transit reform/funding bill that will stave off service cuts and fare increases. Note diverging opinions on when new regional agency (NITA) should act to authorize a 0.25% rate increase in the RTA regional transit tax.

"Illinois lawmakers passed the most transformative transit legislation in 50 years — a $1.5 billion package that not only prevents cuts and layoffs but rewrites the moral math of mobility. At its core are ideas born of equity." thehill.com/opinion/civi...

“I’m not a fascist,” Mayor Johnson said when asked to react to losing majority control of the CTA board. “The most important thing is they have a system that’s funded. … I don’t sit around counting the status of how much power is concentrated in one seat.” www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/05/t...

"[Will] CTA/Metra/Pace finally come out of their poorly coordinated silos, whether consolidation of expensive bureaucracies and duplicative transit routes actually will occur and ultimately whether the Chicago region finally will start acting like a region." www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/tra...

State Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) thinks the transit reform package “will be sufficient in resolving issues that have been in place for quite some time that have caused a lot of grief and aggravation for legislators in Springfield, as well as the transit riders.” news.wttw.com/2025/11/05/i...

Illinois transit bill check-in. chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...

Tesla/Boring Company tunnel system may be coming to Nashville after abortive efforts in Chicago and LA. www.tennessean.com/story/money/...

Here's MPC's recent blog post about the transit funding/reform bill, featuring a fun photo of some key advocates who were present at the birth in Springfield, looking sleep-deprived but excited! @metroplanning.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social @betterstreetschicago.org @stevevance.net

There was a differences of opinion among local news outlets this morning about whether or not CTA, Metra, and Pace fares will be going up next year in the wake of the transit bill passage. Here's the answer, straight from the horse's mouth. 🚌 🚃 🚉 🐎 @rtachicago.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social

Colorado just passed two ballot measures to increase taxes (I’m oversimplifying, but that’s the practical effect) on people earning over $300,000 a year to fund a school meals program. $100,000,000 for kids to eat. Which is really how this should work.

Paul Valles: "Transit bill lacks meaningful consolidation and cost-cutting. It only repackages the RTA into [NITA]. There’s no commitment to meaningful financial accountability. There’s no genuine strategy for reversing ridership decline." www.illinoispolicy.org/vallas-legis...

Loop bus station in early planning stage. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...