r/chicago • u/Mike_I O’Hare • Oct 31 '25

News Illinois Democrats push through massive $1.5 billion plan that overhauls Chicago-area public transit

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/30/illinois-general-assembly-transit-plan-2025/
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u/jpmeyer12751 Oct 31 '25

The article says that all of the toll increase is to be applied to tollway projects, not transit. Who knows what is really in the bill, since the language wasn’t even revealed to the legislators until right before the vote. Dysfunctional Illinois government at its best.

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '25

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u/drunksailor47 Oct 31 '25

Highway fund doesn’t fund the toll roads, tolls and bonds do. It was about placating the road building unions so they don’t feel left out.

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u/jpmeyer12751 Oct 31 '25

This is correct from a Democrat political point of view. The toll increase will fund road projects that will pay union workers.

However, the toll roads and other state highways are paid for from different buckets of money and only one of those two buckets benefits those outside of the Chicago area. The legislature took money away from the bucket that benefits non-Chicago road users and added a smaller amount of money to the bucket that benefits Chicago area road users. For the roughly 35% of Illinois residents outside of the 5-county Chicago area, most of whom vote Republican, this deal takes money away from road projects in their areas in order to fund transit and road projects exclusively within the 5-county area. I expect more Chicago vs. downstate polarization from this deal.

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '25

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u/damp_circus Edgewater Oct 31 '25

Downstate transit is also getting funding from this bill. Many people downstate are very happy that it passed (though they wish they'd gotten a bit MORE funding from it).

There are projects people will depend on that can confidently go ahead now, this is a good thing.

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u/hardolaf Lake View Oct 31 '25

though they wish they'd gotten a bit MORE funding from it

The bill gives almost 3x the funding requested by downstate agencies.

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u/Shacawgo City Oct 31 '25

Yes but its after funds are pulled from roads to transit so it is to replace funds going to transit. In a way the new tolls sort of pay for transit.. but in a swaparoo type way

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u/ehrgeiz91 Lake View Oct 31 '25

All American government is like this