Chicago Area Transit Officials Increasingly Anxious As State Budget Impasse Continues
Chicago-area transit officials sound increasingly anxious over the inability to legislative leaders and the governor to reach agreement on a state budget.
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Chicago-area transit officials sound increasingly anxious over the inability to legislative leaders and the governor to reach agreement on a state budget.
The Ventra smart phone app is off to a fast start. By mid-afternoon Thursday, the first day it was available to the general public, more than 20,000 people had downloaded the free app and it was the #3 trending app at The App Store.
A Milwaukee District North Line Metra train was evacuated Tuesday evening due to a fire.
Passengers might notice extra security when boarding the train during the morning commute on Monday.
Getting around Chicago on public transportation is about to get a lot easier. The CTA, Metra, and Pace have announced a new app that will allow riders to pay for fares on all three systems using their mobile devices.
Normal service on the Metra Electric District's Blue Island branch will resume Thursday morning after trains were suspended Wednesday night because of electrical wire problems.
The increases are tucked into 2016 budgets that the Metra and Pace boards approved unanimously in separate votes Wednesday.
Both inbound and outbound trains were stopped on the Milwaukee District / North Line; the Milwaukee District / West Line; the Rock Island District Line; and the Metra Electric District, the transit agency reported at 12:50 a.m. Wednesday. Signals and power were completely restored by 2:23 a.m.
Inbound train No. 624, scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 8:26 AM, struck a pedestrian in Barrington about 7:15 a.m., according to Metra spokesman Tom Miller. Trains were halted in both directions for more than two hours after the crash.
Trains in both directions on Metra's BNSF line have been halted due to "a pedestrian incident."
Adam Castilla, 25, of Plainfield was found dead in a bathroom aboard a Metra/Burlington Northern passenger train at the Aurora Transportation Center around 2 p.m. Thursday.
The body of the man was found aboard a Burlington Northern line train, and officers responded to the Aurora Transportation Center around 2 p.m., police said.
Metra has suspended service on one of its main commuter lines running between the city and the western suburbs.
"We are pleased that the test on the Rock Island Line went well and that we can now offer this option to all of our customers," Metra Executive Director and Don Orseno said in a statement.
Nine years after Metra Police Officer Thomas Cook was gunned down at a train station in Harvey, his accused killer was set to go on trial this week.
Delays on Metra and Amtrak lines are growing, not to mention the freight hauled to and through the Chicago area by rail. A blue ribbon panel commissioned by Amtrak believes it has the answers -- but they won't come cheap.
Howard Learner, president of Chicago's Environmental Law and Policy Center, said the problems can best be described this way: If each airline at O'Hare International Airport had its own traffic controllers, the result would be chaos. Learner said that effectively is what the nation's major railroads are doing.
The head of Metra's board of directors has urged Congress to extend the deadline to install some costly safety equipment, or the commuter rail line and other railroads could be forced to come to a halt.
Following a successful three-month test on one commuter rail line, Metra will now allow small pets on all of its weekend trains. Pets must be in an enclosed, protective carrier.
The nation's major freight railroads are threatening partial or total shutdowns Jan. 1, unless Congress extends the deadline for installing new signaling systems and software -- and Metra and Amtrak are caught in the middle.
The Regional Transportation Authority is discussing an end to most reduced and free rides, should Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed cuts to mass transit funding come true.
The Chicago Fire Department says an outbound train pulling into the 51st Street station in Hyde Park ran into an electrical problem.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports the proposed trolley would run from several new subdivisions to the Route 59 Metra Station, but the alderman who represents the area says not a single resident she's canvassed wants the trolley.
Metra spokesman Tom Miller said the motorcyclist was trespassing on the BNSF right-of-way at about 6:45 p.m. when struck by the train, which was not scheduled to stop at Harlem Avenue and was running express to Naperville.
The city-wide fundraiser comes as Latino families face food insecurity, wage loss, and instability after ICE activity in Chicago.
Last July, Herrera was hit and killed while walking across this intersection at Ashland and Cullerton after working a street festival in the Pilsen neighborhood.
Connor Bedard added an empty-net goal as the Blackhawks stopped a three-game slide. It was Bedard's first goal since returning from a right shoulder injury.
The incident happened at Medgar Evers Elementary School in Ford Heights last Thursday, where the Cook County Sheriff's Office said a loaded gun was found in a student's backpack.
Caleb Williams was reflective the day after and focused on attacking the offseason, while appreciating the impact this team had on the city of Chicago.
Illinois House Speaker Emmanuel "Chris" Welch posted photos of himself with Chicago Bears owner George McCaskey and president Kevin Warren at Sunday night's game as the apparent two-horse race continues to land a new football stadium.
As his standoff with America's closest allies escalates, President Trump says not getting the Nobel Peace Prize means he's no longer obligated "to think purely of Peace."
The Justice Dept. says it's investigating a group of protesters in Minnesota who disrupted services at a church where a local ICE official apparently serves as a pastor.
Europeans were reeling Sunday from President Trump's announcement that eight countries will face a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland.
Looking overseas, there is wide opposition to the idea of taking Greenland by force.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
As this holiday season nears its end, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias issued a warning Tuesday about text scams.
A new report shines a light on electricity shortages that Illinois could face in less than 10 years.
Roughly 1.4 million fewer Americans have signed up for an Affordable Care Act plan as expiring tax breaks drive up premiums.
January is Radon Action Month, and the Cook County Department of Public Health is urging residents to test their homes for radon.
Severe flu season is sending many people to hospital emergency rooms across the country, including in the Chicago area.
Unionized health care workers this week took aim at Northwestern Medicine, saying the health care system needs to hire more people before expanding the emergency room at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that its recommendations for childhood vaccines will not be affected by a change in federal guidelines.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Does the Chicago Bears' dramatic improvement this season, culminating in their first playoff run in five years, change the discussion about where they will build a new stadium?
The Piggery, a popular barbecue restaurant and bar in the northwest corner of Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, announced Thursday that it is going out of business.
A flamenco dance series in Chicago is expanding access to the arts by bringing the expressive traditional dance form to Chicago communities.
Monday is the opening day for a new exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry that immerses visitors into the imaginative world of award-winning fashion and costume designer Paul Tazewell.
Scott Adams, the cartoonist who created the "Dilbert" comic strip, has died at the age of 68, his first ex-wife revealed on Tuesday.
Here is everything you need to know about how to watch and stream the 2026 Golden Globes.
Bob Weir wrote or co-wrote and sang lead vocals on Grateful Dead classics including "Sugar Magnolia," "One More Saturday Night" and "Mexicali Blues."
Dan O’Connor jumped right in on Monday morning when the lake water temperature was just 33 degrees.
Flu hospitalizations for children under age 18 have hit the highest weekly rate in more than 15 years. At least 32 children have died from the flu.
Bundle up with the heavy jackets early tomorrow morning. By the afternoon highs will hover in the teens but will still feel like the single digits during the afternoon with partly cloudy skies.
The Todos Ponen Project launched in 2020 when immigrant families were navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, it's become a long-term initiative, helping the community.
In the six months since 22-year-old Marcela Herrera's death, loved ones have searched for closure by holding rallies and protests as they push CPD to make an arrest.
The victim was found unresponsive in the alley at 64th and Drexel Sunday morning and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Chicago police issued a warning about a string of vehicle break-ins involving Honda Civics on the South Side.
More than 100 cars were involved in a pileup on I-196 in Zeeland Township on Monday morning in West Michigan.
If you can brave the freezing cold, you might be able to glimpse the northern lights in Illinois Monday night.
The city-wide fundraiser comes as Latino families face food insecurity, wage loss, and instability after ICE activity in Chicago.
Chicago police issued a warning about a string of vehicle break-ins involving Honda Civics on the South Side.
Even as Mayor Brandon Johnson has warned of possible mid-year city worker layoffs if revenue estimates in the budget fall short, city employees and workers at the city's sister agencies owe a mountain of outstanding debt to the city.
Lead-based paint was banned for serious health reasons in 1978, but most homes built before then remain covered in it.
Fire department officials in Chicago's western suburbs said drone technology has been helping keep firefighters safe and make a major impact on public safety.
With the stores becoming a common target for thieves, some of the stores in the Chicago area are taking new steps to fight back.
Connor Bedard added an empty-net goal as the Blackhawks stopped a three-game slide. It was Bedard's first goal since returning from a right shoulder injury.
Caleb Williams was reflective the day after and focused on attacking the offseason, while appreciating the impact this team had on the city of Chicago.
Caleb Williams' last throw in regulation was a backpedaling, fourth-down rainbow that landed in Cole Kmet's hands in the corner of the end zone for a breathtaking touchdown.
Despite forcing OT with a catch in the final minute in the 4th Quarter, the Chicago Bears' playoff journey comes to an end.
Chicago led 70-51 at the half and the advantage stayed above 20 points for most of the second half.
The video shows burglars slicing into display cases under the eyes of several Louvre Museum staff members who do not intervene.
A judge and his wife were shot and wounded in their home over the weekend in Lafayette, Indiana.
A jewelry store in Chicago's Little India district was robbed at gunpoint Sunday evening.
A man was arrested and charged this weekend with a string of armed robberies and burglaries within a period of just over an hour earlier this month in Chicago.
The ages of the victims range from 17 to 40, according to Chicago police.
