Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about State Policy

Coalition Urges Higher State Gas Tax to Fund Transportation

By Daniel Hertz | Apr 11, 2014 | 9 Comments

On July 1, 2014, Illinois’ pool of transportation money will dry up. That’s the day that the state’s last five-year capital program—the law that funds maintenance and construction of roads, highways, and public transit across the state—expires. Without a replacement, roughly a billion dollars of annual support to the state’s transportation infrastructure will disappear. The Transportation […]

Missouri Pols Launch Sneak Attack on Bike Funding

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 8, 2014 | No Comments

The state of Missouri is aiming to bridge its transportation funding shortfall with a 1 percent sales tax that will generate $8 billion over 10 years. Rather than raising the gas tax, this regressive tax will force people who don’t drive to subsidize roads — and for good measure it will also forbid tolling on […]

Regional Transit Needs New Funding to Meet $20 Billion Backlog

By Steven Vance | Apr 2, 2014 | 3 Comments

Transit systems in Northeastern Illinois face a $20 billion maintenance backlog. Now the question is how to pay for it. Governor Pat Quinn’s Northeastern Illinois transit task force has shown some of the possibilities at the region’s disposal, but hasn’t staked out a position on how to secure the necessary revenue to keep Chicagoland’s track, […]

Final State Task Force Report Dives Into Transit Reform Details

By Steven Vance | Apr 1, 2014 | 27 Comments

Governor Pat Quinn’s northeastern Illinois task force released its final report [PDF] yesterday, detailing recommendations from its mid-March draft. The task force launched last year, after former Metra CEO Alex Clifford resigned to protest the commuter rail operator’s long-running patronage culture. The task force of transit experts, business and union leaders spends most of the report writing about how […]

State Rep Want to Bus Students Who Currently Use “Safe Passages” Routes

By John Greenfield | Mar 28, 2014 | 13 Comments

I’m sure state representative Mary Flowers, a South Side Democrat, had the best of intentions in pushing for new legislation requiring the school system to provide free bus service for students who currently walk to school along Safe Passages routes. The bill passed the Illinois House 73-39 on Thursday and now moves on to the […]

A Clearer, More Concise Regional Transit Proposal From Senator Biss

By Steven Vance | Mar 20, 2014 | 23 Comments

At least one Illinois legislator supports a unified transit agency, even though RTA board chairman John Gates and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel have declared their opposition. Senator Daniel Biss (D-9th, Evanston, Glenview) published a proposal [PDF] back in November, saying “the CTA, Metra, and Pace should combine into a single new Regional Transit Authority.” That was […]

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