Halloween was all tricks and no treats this year in Springfield, as Democrats rammed through a costly public transit bill in the early hours of October 31. The measure forces collar county residents to pay significantly higher costs while giving them a diminished voice at the decision-making table.
When conversations began two years ago about reforming our public transit system of Metra trains, Pace buses, and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) trains and buses, Senate Republicans stood firmly with suburban mayors in demanding reforms that included a fair and equitable governance structure. Our goal was simple: give the collar counties an equal voice in transit decisions so they wouldn’t be steamrolled by political leaders from Cook County and Chicago. From the start, I feared this process would turn into a bailout and takeover by Mayor Brandon Johnson and his political allies in Cook County, and that’s exactly what happened.
Funding to stabilize and improve the system will come from multiple revenue sources, with suburban residents shouldering most of the load. In order to provide capital to modernize, maintain, and expand the Illinois Tollway System, tolls paid by motorists are going up by 45 cents. This translates to a projected annual toll revenue increase of $800 million to $1 billion, with approximately 8% coming from Chicago residents, according to the Illinois Tollway Authority.
The bill also authorizes the current Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), soon to be replaced by the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) in July 2026, to raise the RTA sales tax by 0.25% across the six-county region. This will make sales tax rates in Chicago and many suburbs among the highest in the nation, generating an estimated $478 million in new revenue.
Meanwhile, to protect lawmakers who voted for this bill, the rate and toll hikes do not take effect for one year, a date that is conveniently past the next election. Keep in mind that while Metra has adjusted rates periodically in recent years, the CTA has not touched their rates since 2018, further showcasing the disproportionality of how this state funds public transit.
Equally troubling, downstate residents do not escape this cash grab. The proposal siphons off vital transportation funding from downstate communities and redirects it to Chicago and the CTA. By diverting previously agreed-upon percentages of statewide sales and motor fuel tax revenues, the bill drains an estimated $476 million from downstate infrastructure needs. That means funds meant for local roads and bridges across Illinois will now be funneled to Chicago. They’re taking money from your gas tanks, instead of your wallets, from Crystal Lake to Cairo, and sending it straight to Mayor Johnson, Cook County, and the CTA.
The new governance structure cements control of all future transit decisions in the hands of Chicago and Illinois Democrats. The NITA Board will have 20 members: five appointments each by Governor Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Cook County Board Chair Toni Preckwinkle, and one from each the five collar counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. All but one of those county board chairs are Democrats, which means the NITA board is likely to include appointments that are 19:1 Democrats. With the RTA’s previous voting requirements for collaboration now gone, Chicago, Cook County, and the Governor will have full authority to dictate suburban bus and rail service levels, fare structures, and the use of NITA revenues however they choose.
The legislature had an opportunity to reform the RTA, Metra, Pace, and the CTA in a way that was equitable, transparent, and focused on delivering a safe, efficient, world-class transit system. Instead, Democrats chose to hand full control to Chicago politicians and force suburban and downstate residents to foot the bill.
Given the City of Chicago and Cook County’s track record of financial mismanagement, this new law is more than just bad policy. It’s a frightening example of how far Democrats will go to consolidate power and shift costs onto everyone else. For taxpayers outside of Chicago, this “Halloween Surprise” is truly a ghoulish proposition.