Transit Funding is Coming Down to the Wire
Without funding approval by the end of the Illinois General Assembly’s session on May 31st, Metra and the entire Chicago region’s transit system will be devastated.
One in five workers in the City of Chicago won’t have access to transit for their daily commute.
Early morning and late evening Metra service will end.
3,000 transit jobs would be eliminated.
How we get around our city won’t be the same.
“This isn’t just a transit crisis—it’s a regional emergency. If the General Assembly does not act this spring, hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans will wake up in 2026 without a way to get to work, school or medical appointments.” (Leanne Redden, Regional Transit Authority Director)
It doesn’t have to be this way.
With proper funding, there would be more trains more frequently, cutting wait times in half. There would be greater freedom.
The freedom to step outside and trust that the system will work – that a bus or train will be there.
The freedom to transform a city, connect a region, and bring us together.
Send an email. Tell Springfield to fund Metra before it’s too late.
Please urge your state representative and senator to:
1) Provide Metra with enough operating funds to begin modernizing its services to meet demand throughout the day.
2) Ensure that Metra can operate statewide and in neighboring states, if needed.
3) Expand IDOT’s engineering department to design downstate corridors and shared Chicago area infrastructure.
