Governor Pritzker signs Illinois transit funding bill
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new transit funding bill on Tuesday.
Illinois lawmakers passed a compromise bill to fund public transit in October, delivering $1.5 billion in new funding for mass transit systems across the state, and creating a new governing body to oversee the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace in the Chicago area.
Supporters said the legislation will avert the need for drastic cuts to the Chicago area's mass transit systems without a significant statewide tax hike.
"This required a whole lot of hard work, it required creative compromise, and it required every ounce of our unwavering and shared commitment to quality, affordable transit for all," Gov. Pritzker said Tuesday.
The plan authorizes the Regional Transportation Authority to increase its regional sales tax by 0.25 percentage point, to 1% in Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage and Will counties and 1.25% in Cook County. The RTA board has the authority to raise it within two months of the bill's effective date, which is June 2026. That tax hike is expected to generate $478 million.
The bulk of the funding, $860 million, would come through redirecting sales tax revenue charged on motor fuel purchases to public transportation operations. Another estimated $200 million would come from interest growing in the Road Fund — a state fund that is typically used for road construction projects but can also be used for transportation-related purposes under the state constitution.
Pritzker joined state and local leaders at Union Station on Tuesday morning.