The General Assembly recently received a comprehensive “Plan of Action for Regional Transit” proposal from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the regional planning organization for the Northeast counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. The 134-page report outlines public transit challenges and includes multiple legislative recommendations that address a $730 million budget shortfall that is projected by fiscal 2026.
It also includes a reimagined vision for the Chicago area’s transit system, and addresses topics such as the overall funding formula for rider costs, rider experience, affordability and accessibility, governance across the various transit systems, and community and economic development policies that promote development and jobs near transit sites. The goals and recommendations within the report are worthy of discussion, but extremely costly.
CMAP has long been known as an objective and non-partisan organization. Sadly, it appears the process for creating the PART proposal has been overly influenced by special interest groups. While CMAP is a seven-county entity, the counties of Kane, Kendall, McHenry, and Will are an afterthought, having little to no input into the final plan. The Milwaukee West and Union Pacific West (Kane), Union Pacific Northwest (McHenry) and Heritage Corridor (Will) Metra lines represent almost 100,000 weekly riders whose voices were ignored in this process.
The city of Chicago, along with Cook, Lake and DuPage Counties, however, appear to be setting the stage for taxpayers to carry most of the burden for addressing the need for new revenue. The Chicago Transit Authority has not raised fares since 2018. Prior to that, the last CTA fare increase was in 2009. Since then, the CTA has continued to pass growing budgets, while simultaneously running up almost $5 billion in long-term debt. This, while the CTA eats up almost 65% of the entire RTA annual revenue stream.
Within the PART proposal, the overall ask of the General Assembly is a $1.5 billion increase in revenue from a wide variety of sources. Funding recommendations include raising passenger fares, increasing parking fees, implementing road usage charges and “congested area taxes,” increasing toll costs, adding new toll systems to currently un-tolled expressways, raising vehicle registration fees, raising the motor fuel tax and broadening the sales tax base to include professional services like dry cleaning, barber shops and hair and nail salons, increasing payroll taxes, and adopting clean energy policies that are financially punitive to those who drive gas-powered vehicles.
I am incredibly disappointed that the report simply defaults to raising taxes and fees on the backs of taxpayers rather than calling for a deep audit of state spending priorities. As the senator for almost a quarter-million people in Kane, McHenry and DuPage Counties, I can say without hesitation that people are taxed to their limit. Any effort to hike taxes and fees without first examining existing spending is, in my opinion, irresponsible and out of touch with Illinoisans’ fiscal realities.
We have seen many instances, most recently with the migrant crisis, where hundreds of millions in state dollars have materialized from existing coffers to respond to issues that are deemed “priorities.” Why then is the issue of Illinois providing reliable, safe, accessible and equitable public transit, not near the top of that list?
Finally, it’s important to recognize that Illinois ranks dead last in the nation in state funding for mass transportation. Federal funding is even worse, and Illinois sits at the bottom of that category as well. Simply put, at least at the state level, majority party legislative leaders have not made transportation funding a budget priority over other budget pressures, like generational pension debt, lackluster education systems and ever-expanding social programs that cater to their base. I believe public transportation is an essential service. It is a primary responsibility of state government.
Rather than saddling Illinoisans with a host of new taxes and fees, it is well beyond the time that the Legislature truly examine spending priorities and ensure that essential services like public transit are at the top of the list of how we budget. Clearly there remains a lot of work that needs to be done, and Republicans stand ready to work collaboratively on workable solutions. We just need to be invited to the table.
• State Sen. Donald DeWitte is a St. Charles Republican who represents Illinois’ 33rd Senate District, which includes parts of Kane, McHenry and DuPage counties. He is also the minority spokesperson for the Illinois Senate Transportation Committee.