The Chicago Transit Authority is receiving $74 million from its sister agencies to stave off service cuts by two to three months next year to buy time for state legislators to pass a funding bill and plug a multimillion dollar budget hole.
The Regional Transportation Authority’s board of directors voted unanimously Thursday to reallocate funds from Metra, Pace and the RTA to the CTA’s 2026 budget.
The temporary measure will delay the potential 40% cuts to CTA’s service by two or three months, Kevin Bueso, RTA’s chief financial officer, told the board. The CTA is expected to run out of federal COVID-19 grants in the first quarter of 2026, ahead of Metra and Pace, he said.
Board member J.D. Ross said the transfer of funds will show legislators that transit agencies are working together while Springfield struggles to pass a funding bill. The RTA has asked the state to plug an estimated $700 million combined budget deficit in 2026 for the CTA, Metra and Pace. But the RTA has asked the state to increase funding by $1.5 billion to improve service.
The Illinois House passed a spending bill in May, potentially boosting funding to $1.5 billion a year, but the bill was never taken up in the Senate. The bill would replace the RTA with a more powerful Northern Illinois Transit Agency. Lawmakers have said they continue to negotiate on a final bill and expect to vote on it in the fall veto session.
Bueso said transit agencies still face a deficit next year, but are faring slightly better after a new law extended the sales tax to online transactions. The RTA, which benefits from that tax, is seeing around $12 million a month in extra funding, he said.
But the pressure is still on state lawmakers to prop up the transit agencies that have not regained ridership lost during the coronavirus pandemic. Without more funding from the state, the RTA has warned that transit agencies will raise fares and cut service.
RTA board member Dennis Mondero, representing Chicago, warned that cuts should be avoided at all costs so agencies don’t suffer a “death spiral” of customers who never return.
“Our region may never recover if we have a 40% reduction across the board,” Mondero said. “That’s why we’re tying to buy the time so our leaders in Springfield can come up with a sensible solution.”