Our transit system, in Chicago, is at a crossroads. Recently, state lawmakers ended their spring session without setting aside funding for transit. Without this funding by the end of the year, CTA, Pace and Metra could see 40% service cuts. Metra’s North Central Service and Southwest Service could be reduced to only 3 round trips per day. 4 out of 8 L lines could lose service, and over half the bus routes being cut. This would mean we would have a bus system about the size of Madison, Wisconsin. Pace would lose all weekend service. Traffic would snarl our roads, and our businesses would suffer. The economy of Illinois would shrink by 14 Billion each year! This future cannot come to pass. Lawmakers have decided to wait until the veto session, in mid-to-late November, to save our transit.

We need our lawmakers to understand how important these systems are to us.

We support HB3438, a bill to create a unified and future-proof public transit system that works for us all, from Chicago to the suburbs.