Overview

• The Illinois General Assembly is racing to meet the May 31 deadline on a balanced budget that must fill a $770 million funding hole for CTA, Metra and Pace as federal COVID-19 grants expire.
• Lawmakers are weighing a plan to merge the CTA, Metra, Pace and the RTA under a single governance board to streamline oversight and make transit reform a condition of any bailout.
• The Regional Transportation Authority warns that without new state revenue, transit agencies could cut up to 40 percent of service and lay off hundreds of staff next fiscal year.
• Mayor Brandon Johnson has pressed for an “equitable distribution” of resources and supports amendments to prepaid cellphone taxes and an extension of the 911 surcharge to generate millions more.
• Republican legislators have flagged potential sales taxes on consumer services—ranging from streaming platforms to rideshares and haircuts—as a way to help close the transit funding gap.