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Chicago-area public transit agencies begin planning for 'doomsday' funding scenario
CHICAGO -- Transit agency officials in Chicagoland met this week and formally began the process of planning for next year's budget, including drawing up plans for major service cuts and potential layoffs.
It's the latest chapter in an ongoing fight between public transit officials and state lawmakers over funding. Public transportation agencies' federal COVID-19 relief funds are set to run out in 2026. Despite the funding, ridership on buses and trains still hasn't reached prepandemic levels.
Now, transit agencies running buses and trains in northern Illinois are facing a $771 million annual combined budget gap - and lawmakers did not pass funding reform legislation by a critical May 31 deadline.
While House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch told Capitol News Illinois last week that lawmakers "have time" to handle the situation, transit officials told a very different story at two meetings this week. ................(more)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/public-transit-agencies-including-chicago-authority-begin-planning-doomsday-funding-scenario/16744541/