Changes made to Illinois public transport plan sends money downstate
[June 10, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A law expected to bring reform to public
transportation in Illinois took effect at the start of the month,
stemming from a $1.5 billion plan passed by the General Assembly late
last year.
At the end of May, lawmakers decided to make tweaks before it came into
effect.
The Northern Illinois Transit Authority was created to replace the
Regional Transportation Authority and oversee the Chicago Transit
Authority, Metra and Pace.
The reform is to be funded by a share of the state’s Road Fund, where
the state places motor fuel tax income. It also allowed for a 0.25%
increase in sales taxes in Cook and the collar counties.
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, characterized new changes to the
plan as mostly technical, with some being requested by the Illinois
Public Transportation Association – which represents transit agencies
across the state.
Speaking to his colleagues regarding the bill, Sen. Li Arellano, R-Genesso,
said he was happy to again vote against the transit bill – which he said
was one of the worst days in history for rural Illinoisans financially.
“This does not fix the core problem that we have shifted money away from
rural areas and we've turned it into borrowing for our children,”
Arellano said.
Of the changes presented in the trailer bill that passed near the end of
the spring session was an update to what share of the transportation
funds will be allocated to downstate transportation. The bill changes
the percentage from 15% of the money to 10%.
The change in the percentages, according to Assistant Majority House
Leader Eva-Dina Delgado, is technical in nature.
Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, contended the split was discussed at the 15%
level when the body passed the full plan in October.
Delgado said the change isn’t impactful to those receiving the funds.
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The Arlington Park Metra stop adjacent to property owned by the
Chicago Bears and the potential home to a new stadium in Arlington
Heights, Illinois. Jon Styf / The Center Square
“I think it's possible that when we were debating it, it wasn't very
clear,” Delgado said. “These are conversations that we've been
having with the Illinois Public Transit Association – that is the
association that represents all of the downstate transit agencies.
They understood that this was a drafting error.”
Delgado also noted the state budget includes $500 million directed
to downstate transportation as a “down payment” to solve the issue
of access in getting from “point A to point B.”
In addition to the package providing the funds for downstate
transit, it also allows for the creation of new grant programs to
provide downstate residents reduced fares and to create cooperative
public transportation networks – which would be created through and
collaboration between local school districts, local governments,
public career centers and technical education programs, serving
those institutions.
The Senate also debated the changes before passing the 2027 state
budget – which includes how the plans will be funded in the coming
year.
State Sen. Donald DeWitte, a Republican budgeteer, described the
follow-up bill as having “significant improvements,” before heavily
questioning portions of the changes.
In the state spending package, NITA will be allowed to provide the
suburban Pace bus system with $11.5 million for expenses related to
disability access and paratransit improvements.
Though the original public transportation funding bill is already in
place, the changes and subsequent funding for the coming year still
need to be signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker before taking
effect.
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