SPRINGFIELD — State lawmakers are on track toward overhauling the governance of mass transit across the Chicago area, but a lengthy list of proposed new taxes could derail efforts to stave off the fiscal cliff facing the CTA, Metra and Pace.
Democratic legislators on Thursday were mostly on board with the proposal to replace the Regional Transportation Authority with a strengthened new body known as the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, overseeing bus and rail service In Chicago, Cook County and the collar counties.
But as with so many issues in the state Capitol in a difficult budget year, the biggest question still nagged at Democratic leaders in the waning hours of the spring legislative session: who pays for it?
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, offered up a list of revenue options that he said reflected the “shared sacrifice” needed to maintain and improve service at the agencies collectively facing a $770 million shortfall next year.
That includes a 50-cent tollway surcharge, a redirection of a portion of suburban sales taxes to the new transit authority, an electric vehicle charging fee, a real estate transfer tax and a 10% tax on rideshares in the region. Interest earnings from the state road fund would also go toward transit projects.
“This was never going to be easy, accomplishing the goal of a safe, reliable, accessible, integrated public transit system across our region, essentially changing completely the model that was set up 40 years ago,” Villivalam said.
Labor leaders and suburban officials slammed many of the revenue proposals.
“This is punitive to taxpayers in DuPage County,” State Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton, D-Oakbrook Terrace, said. “I don’t see this as an equitable sacrifice.”
Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea said, “Illinoisans deserve better and want a sustainable solution — not one that kicks the can down the road and sets our state up for a future fiscal crisis.”
DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy said the plan “steals $72 million dollars in DuPage tax revenue, imposes a local real estate transfer tax with no oversight from the county and taxes suburban commuters.”
There was less pushback against the overall governing structure of the proposed NITA — as in, “need a ride?” — which would set fares, allow for easier transfers and assume capital planning responsibilities.
The governor, Chicago mayor and Cook County board president would each appoint five members of the 20-person board, with one each named by the board chairs of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
Lawmakers, transit officials, labor leaders and more have been grappling for three years with how to save a transit system still struggling to return to pre-COVID-19 ridership numbers as federal pandemic relief dollars dry up at the end of this year. But persistent service issues and customer dissatisfaction have prompted the mantra of “no funding without reform.”
State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, derided it as a bailout for Chicago and Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“Chicago and Cook County get the majority of the board votes; the suburbs are outvoted on just about everything, fares, service cuts, tax increases,” DeWitte said. “That’s not reform, that’s a takeover.”
Villivalam acknowledged the revenue ideas would need to be amended for any hope of passing a bill by midnight Saturday, when the legislative session concludes.
A separate bill introduced Wednesday by state Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, D-Chicago, mirrors Villivalam’s measure in terms of establishing the NITA, but doesn’t address funding.
Some legislators told the Sun-Times they’d be OK with approving Delgado’s bill, and then coming back to Springfield later this summer to hammer out the funding. Lawmakers have already been told to be ready to return to the Capitol in the event of surprise federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration.
But transit and labor leaders said they need certainty on funding now to avoid massive layoffs and deep service cuts when federal dollars expire at the end of the year.
“There are times where it takes a crisis for us to act,” said Villivalam, who estimated 3,000 transit workers could be laid off this summer without a funding solution.
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker hasn’t weighed in on the transit funding options, but said on Wednesday he’s against imposing taxes that are “broad-based and that would have a negative impact on working families” when it comes to the full state budget that lawmakers must approve by Saturday.
Budget negotiations were still inching forward Thursday behind closed doors under the annual statehouse habit of pushing spending talks to the very end of the legislative clock. With two days to go before the end of session, super-majority Democrats had not revealed a full spending proposal.
“We are running every single scenario to make sure that we land in a place that is palatable to all of us,” said state Rep. Kam Buckner, a Chicago Democrat and House budgeteer.