Harsh Winter Takes A Toll On CTA, Pace Budgets
The polar vortex has blown a hole in the CTA and Pace budgets, but neither agency is pushing the panic button yet.
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The polar vortex has blown a hole in the CTA and Pace budgets, but neither agency is pushing the panic button yet.
When Ventra was first unveiled in September, there were massive teething problems.
Getting around the city can be difficult due to the traffic, winding roads and constant construction. Let go of the stress and take advantage of the many different options for public transportation in Chicago.
The incident happened about 3:45 p.m. outside Loyola University Medical Center when a red Nissan Sentra traveling southbound on 1st Avenue veered into the northbound lane and struck a Pace bus carrying five passengers.
An Oak Forest man was killed and three other people were hurt in a head-on crash involving a Pace bus Wednesday morning in southwest suburban Romeoville.
CTA is a lot happier now with the Ventra farecard than it was even a month ago. But CTA President Forrest Claypool said Wednesday that the final phase-out of old fare cards is at least two months off.
Illinois State Police said the bus was driving on the left shoulder of the northbound lanes of the Stevenson, when it crashed with two other vehicles near Harlem Avenue.
Amalgamated Transit Union Division 308 President Robert Kelly said the employees he represents are getting verbal abuse daily.
The agreement kept intact the historic division of the supposedly discretionary funds: 98 percent to the CTA, 2 percent to Pace, while essentially forgiving a $56 million loan to the CTA that CTA has characterized as a grant and offering Metra $2 million for capital projects.
Pace is the first of the area's transit systems to unveil a proposed 2014 budget, and it holds the line on most fares while promising additional service.
Pace employees will be staged at 14 transit stations in the city during the next two weeks in an effort to inform customers about fare policy changes.
On Monday, Ventra cards will begin replacing the familiar plastic and paper fare cards with magnetic stripes, which CTA and Pace customers have been using for years.
Gov. Pat Quinn has appointed former U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald and former CTA Board chair Carole Brown to a panel tasked with recommending reforms for the Chicago area's public transit agencies, in the wake of patronage allegations at Metra.
A government watchdog group said Wednesday that the resignations of two Regional Transportation Authority board members this week pointed to larger, troubling issues for the Chicago area's transit agencies.
Pace is looking to expand its popular Call-n-Ride program.
The Ventra card allows riders to use a single card for CTA and Pace transportation, according to a CTA release.
Democratic candidate for governor Bill Daley said the Regional Transportation Authority – which oversees the finances of CTA, Pace and Metra – has reached the end of the line, and should be eliminated.
CTA Ventra payment card holders who use the card's controversial debit features won't be charged for talking to public transit customer service operators or using the cards for cash ATM withdrawals under new fee rollbacks revealed Thursday.
More shoulder-riding Pace buses begin to roam I-55 beginning Monday. WBBM's Bob Roberts says an even bigger expansion may be in the works.
One of the hassles of riding the bus is the dash to get to the corner, several blocks away, to catch it.
The crash involved a van or minibus that crashed into a tree.
A Pace bus traveling south swerved to avoid a pedestrian and crashed into a light pole in the 4600 block of South Halsted Street.
Money Network, one of the company's behind the new Ventra transit and debit card, currently has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau. CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports.
A village snow plow crashed into a Pace bus, causing the vehicles to land in a yard of a home in north suburban Glenview Friday morning.
More Pace buses will be riding the shoulders of I-55 by next summer -- and could possibly be taking riders between the Loop and southwest suburbs middays, and on specials to White Sox and Bears games.
Illinois could soon reform the state's regulations on delinquent property tax sales after the House approved a bill 80-35 along party lines Saturday evening that lets homeowners keep their equity.
Police on Monday were seeking help from the public in finding two suspects in a robbery on a CTA Red Line platform along the Dan Ryan Expressway last week.
Police shot and killed a man they say struggled with officers for a gun this past weekend in the west Chicago suburb of Oak Park.
The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court said it will hear an appeal seeking to redraw the state's Republican-friendly congressional map, a move that could open a path for Democrats to gain seats in 2028.
The man charged with the murder of a Loyola University freshman was back in court Monday.
Illinois could soon reform the state's regulations on delinquent property tax sales after the House approved a bill 80-35 along party lines Saturday evening that lets homeowners keep their equity.
The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court said it will hear an appeal seeking to redraw the state's Republican-friendly congressional map, a move that could open a path for Democrats to gain seats in 2028.
The Illinois General Assembly approved Gov. JB Pritzker's nearly $56 billion budget for the upcoming year early Monday morning.
The Illinois Senate passed a bill early Monday morning geared toward keeping the Chicago Bears in-state, but the Illinois House of Representatives adjourned without voting on the measure.
Senate Democrats are launching a coordinated effort to kill the Trump administration's $1.7+ billion "anti-weaponization" fund.
A new study from the Cook County Treasurer's office underlines growing concerns about the impact the Illinois megaprojects bill could have on the county's property tax base and overall fiscal health.
As thousands of Chicagoans wrap up road trips over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, gas prices in the city have reached the highest levels seen in four years.
Consumer and environmental advocates said Monday that they found overcharges buried in the most recent rate-hike request by Nicor.
One week away from Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, with gas prices remaining high, negotiations were set to resume Monday at the largest oil refinery in the Midwest.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
June is World Infertility Awareness Month, and Northwestern Medicine on Monday shared the story of a woman who is celebrating the birth of her second child after a tumor disrupted her fertility.
The Centennial Park Aquatic Center in the southwest Chicago suburb of Orland Park has been closed to the public after two recent cases of E. coli infection.
Menopause can feel like a major turning point for millions of women, with symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and brain fog can make women feel like their bodies aren't their own.
The head of the World Health Organization says Ebola has killed at least 7 people in Congo, but the U.N. agency says it knows the epidemic "is much larger."
A person suspected of having hantavirus in Winnebago County, Illinois, turned out to be a false alarm, officials said Monday.
The owners of Gene & Georgetti steakhouse are suing a concessions operator over their expansion at Midway International Airport.
DraftKings announced Monday that it is closing its sportsbook operation at Wrigley Field after only about two years.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
The Chicago Fire FC announced Wednesday morning that its new stadium in the South Loop will be named McDonald's Park.
Joe Negri, known to many as Handyman Negri on "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," has died at the age of 99, just days shy of his 100th birthday.
President Trump said he is considering replacing the Freedom 250 concert series with a rally after many artists dropped out.
Sonny Rollins, the legendary tenor saxophonist known for his bold tone and constant experimentation, has died at 95.
Former CBS Chicago anchorman Bill Kurtis has signed off from his role as the judge and scorekeeper on the NPR weekly news quiz show "Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!"
Pop star Britney Spears said she was "totally fine" to drive and had not had a drink for about six hours when she was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has your 11 a.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Monday, June 1, 2026.
The medication is helping pancreatic cancer patients survive nearly as twice as long compared with chemotherapy.
The Northern Illinois Food Bank is launching two programs to support children who get free or reduced-price lunches from school, but lose access in the summer months.
A court has temporarily blocked the opening of the quarantine center, with critics saying it prioritizes American lives over those of local residents.
The man charged with the murder of a Loyola University freshman was back in court Monday. This came days after officials said he was found with a weapon in jail.
The Illinois Senate passed a bill geared toward keeping the Bears in-state, but the Illinois House adjourned without voting on the measure.
Feel Free, a kratom drink, is easy to buy and increasingly popular, even as doctors and medical experts grow more concerned about its health impacts, addiction rates and deaths.
The Illinois General Assembly approved Gov. JB Pritzker's nearly $56 billion budget for the upcoming year early Monday morning.
A man and woman were shot and killed early Monday morning in the west Chicago suburb of Bellwood.
Illinois could soon reform the state's regulations on delinquent property tax sales after the House approved a bill 80-35 along party lines Saturday evening that lets homeowners keep their equity.
Feel Free, a kratom drink, is easy to buy and increasingly popular, even as doctors and medical experts grow more concerned about its health impacts, addiction rates and deaths.
A long stay in the neonatal intensive care unit can be one of the most difficult journeys a parent can face, but starting next week, Illinois becomes only the second state in the nation to offer NICU-specific leave for moms and dads.
Chicago has the largest air quality monitoring network in the country thanks to a partnership between the city, the University of Illinois Chicago, and local community groups.
An Indiana State Police trooper was shot, and a suspect was killed during a shootout with officers during a traffic stop on I-80/94 in Hammond, Indiana.
Data centers popping up all over Illinois are sucking up millions of gallons of water a day, at a pace that the state can't keep up with. But experts say tapping into wastewater resources would steer the state in a new and much safer direction.
The Illinois Senate passed a bill early Monday morning geared toward keeping the Chicago Bears in-state, but the Illinois House of Representatives adjourned without voting on the measure.
Matthew Liberatore took a shutout into the sixth inning and Masyn Winn hit a two-run single as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night.
Colson Montgomery homered and Tristan Peters' RBI single put Chicago ahead as the White Sox rallied with two runs in the seventh inning to beat the slumping Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Sunday for their fifth straight win.
Dennis Hull, a hockey pro who spent 13 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, died late last week.
The Cubs finished with 12 hits while winning for the third time in four games.
Police on Monday were seeking help from the public in finding two suspects in a robbery on a CTA Red Line platform along the Dan Ryan Expressway last week.
Police shot and killed a man they say struggled with officers for a gun this past weekend in the west Chicago suburb of Oak Park.
The man charged with the murder of a Loyola University freshman was back in court Monday.
A Walgreens drugstore was robbed at gunpoint in Chicago's Logan Square community early Monday morning.
A man and woman were shot and killed early Monday morning in the west Chicago suburb of Bellwood.
