First CTA board meeting held since state lawmakers miss fiscal cliff deadline
The Chicago Transit Authority Board met for the first time since Illinois state lawmakers missed a critical deadline to bridge a massive fiscal cliff facing the agency, along with Metra and Pace.
While the General Assembly passed a $55.2 billion budget plan for the next fiscal year, it did not address the $771 million budget deficit the Regional Transportation Authority — which oversees CTA, Metra and Pace — is facing. If lawmakers don't come up with funding by this summer, the transit agencies will have to start laying out plans for service cuts of up to 40% for next year.
The CTA's acting president offered the first real insight so far into how officials will plan for next year with that financial uncertainty looming over their heads.
"RTA is asking us to prepare two separate budgets: one that assumes funding is coming at the levels we need, but also one that prepares for what would occur if funding is not received," Acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen said during the meeting. "And certainly, that latter proposition is one that is severe and sobering for all of us."
The board also approved changes to a number of buss lines, and approved a fully funded six-month pilot program to install vending machines with opioid overdose reversing medication naloxone at five transit hubs against the city.
The naloxone will be provided in partnership with Cook County Health and the pilot program will begin this autumn.
