CTA: Rauner's Proposed Cuts Deeper Than We Thought
The draconian cut in state aid to the CTA proposed in Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget might be even bigger than first thought.
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The draconian cut in state aid to the CTA proposed in Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget might be even bigger than first thought.
A Regional Transportation Authority analysis released Thursday has determined that the CTA, Metra and Pace face $36.4 billion in capital needs over the next 10 years.
CTA bus ridership is down and the transit agency is offering a lot of reasons why.
The head of the Chicago's areas umbrella transit agency recommends Metra follow up reports that many of its locomotive engineers conductors bring home over $100,000 a year, reports WBBM's John Cody.
Chicago-area commuters have never seen anything like it. Metra has proposed fare increases averaging 10.8 percent, starting in February, with the guarantee of additional increases every year through 2024.
The CTA hopes to attract more riders by speeding up its buses, and giving buses green light priority over other vehicles is a key part of that strategy, but it says it is encountering problems obtaining federal grant money that's been in the hands of the Regional Transportation Authority since 2012.
Republican state Sen. Kirk Dillard, who made two attempts at Illinois governor, officially resigned from the Legislature after more than two decades in office to become chairman of the Chicago-area's Regional Transportation Authority, Senate Republican officials announced Monday.
The Regional Transportation Authority is shifting gears – from a developer as its board chairman to a politician and attorney who actually rides mass transit regularly.
The Regional Transportation Authority may not even be around in a few months, yet it has just signed a 38-month, $5 million advertising contract targeting markets that have eluded the area's transit agencies.
RTA Chairman John Gates said he wants the agency to concentrate on what he considers doable -- and said his priority remains finding new money for capital repairs and rehabilitation.
The agency that oversees public transportation in Chicago is suing American Airlines for falsely claiming to buy "vast amounts of jet fuel" from a small office in a rural community to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes in the nation's third-largest city, where the actual work is done.
Metra soon hopes to give you E-alerts about trains at specific times, not just for specific lines.
Metra has begun a self-examination of its performance in this month's snow and bitter cold, even as the Regional Transportation Authority orders its own review.
A union official on Thursday showed reporters a photograph of a Ventra card that worked –- despite having a negative balance of $272.50.
The chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority said Wednesday the problems with the Ventra fare card system amount to "systemic failure," not just "a computer glitch." And he ordered his chief auditor to determine how much it's costing.
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.
Governor Pat Quinn's transit task force has morphed from checking up on Metra to designing a transit system that's the envy of the world after a few local issues are settled. John Cody reports on day one.
Regional Transportation Authority board member William Coulson said former Metra chair Brad O'Halloran and director Larry Huggins sparked a clash with former CEO Alex Clifford over political hires at the agency.
The Regional Transportation Authority is putting the finishing touches on a sharply critical audit of former Metra CEO Alex Clifford's severance agreement – and says the commuter rail agency could have gotten out of the contract for a fraction of the potential $718,000 cost.
Although the newest appointee to the CTA's governing board suddenly backed out in the past week, the CTA's President says any upcoming agency shakeup should leave his agency out.
After, another resignation from the Metra Board, the head of the Regional Transportation Authority is pleading with suburban official to appoint members to fill all the empty seats. WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore has the story.
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.
Governor Quinn says that in the wake of the patronage and executive director payout scandal at Metra, he wants experts to look at an overhaul of the state's transportation agencies, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
Keith Brookshire details his friendship with Seattle Seahawks wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson and the generosity he continues to provide to Chicago student athletes.
They said both of the washed checks were made out to the same name
Neighbors said the student and their own sense of security are heightened by what police say is a random attack.
Anfernee Simons scored 23 points for Chicago, which lost its fifth straight.
Police said the suspect punched the victim and took their belongings before stomping them in the head.
Chicago aldermen this week will consider $29.2 million in settlements in wrongful convictions linked to disgraced former CPD Det. Reynaldo Guevara.
Two Illinois state legislators want to make sure school districts get the funding they need.
The official DHS statistics, which had not been previously reported, provide the most detailed look yet into who ICE has arrested during the Trump administration's crackdown.
President Trump criticized Team USA freestyle skier Hunter Hess after he and other American athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics shared their thoughts on U.S. politics.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
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.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
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.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny took the stage on Sunday dressed in all white, donning a jersey with his last name, Ocasio, and the number 64.
Brad Arnold, the founder and lead singer of the 3 Doors Down has died following "his courageous battle with cancer," the rock band announced Saturday on social media.
Bad Bunny took the stage at halftime for the 2026 Super Bowl. Here's who else performed at Super Bowl 60.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Keith Brookshire said the two have kept in touch, watching Jackson set records at Western Illinois University and play four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, where he would collect barely used equipment from his fellow NFL stars and send it to his alma mater.
Another mild day with highs in the 40s on Tuesday and Wednesday. Mid-week sunshine is expected before our next chance of snow, which returns late on Thursday.
New research from Harvard shows drinking caffeinated coffee or tea every day is associated with better, long-term cognitive health.
The suspects blew up the armored van belonging to a security company after forcibly stopping them on the highway.
American skier Breezy Johnson and figure skater Alysa Liu have reported the same problem with their medals.
A Lake County judge on Monday ordered a man and woman held in jail until they face trial for murder in the death of the woman's 8-year-old son.
They said both of the washed checks were made out to the same name
Neighbors said the student and their own sense of security are heightened by what police say is a random attack.
Keith Brookshire details his friendship with Seattle Seahawks wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson and the generosity he continues to provide to Chicago student athletes.
Police said the suspect punched the victim and took their belongings before stomping them in the head.
This is due in part to the new "Big Beautiful Bill" and job cuts at the Internal Revenue Service.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Keith Brookshire details his friendship with Seattle Seahawks wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson and the generosity he continues to provide to Chicago student athletes.
Anfernee Simons scored 23 points for Chicago, which lost its fifth straight.
Some 2026 Winter Olympics athletes say their winning medals are falling apart, coming detached from their ribbons.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny took the stage on Sunday dressed in all white, donning a jersey with his last name, Ocasio, and the number 64.
Team USA defended its Olympic figure skating team event gold medal on Sunday after Ilia "Quad God" ushered the team to victory at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
A Wisconsin woman has been charged in the shooting death of a man last week in Chicago's western suburbs.
Police in the northwest Chicago suburb of Palatine were investigating after someone grabbed a child and took the youngster's cellphone Monday morning.
A man was shot and killed Monday morning in the Austin neighborhood.
A Lake County judge on Monday ordered a man and woman held in jail until they face trial for murder in the death of the woman's 8-year-old son.
Police in Joliet, Illinois, were searching Sunday for a man who held up a cellphone store this weekend.
