(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed $1.5 billion public transit-funding legislation, but Illinois consumers are expected to pay the price with higher taxes and tolls.
Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2111 Tuesday at Union Station in Chicago. The measure establishes the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) to replace the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and oversee the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace.
The governor promised that Illinois is on the verge of a world-class transportation network.
“This new law not only averts the cliff but preserves affordability and makes transit safer and more reliable,” Pritzker said.
The bill passed after more than two years of discussion centered around an estimated $770 million transit “fiscal cliff” looming in 2026, but the number was revised last summer to around $250 million.
SB 2111 provides $1.5 billion in annual funding for transit systems across Illinois. The measure allows the RTA to raise sales taxes by 0.25% across six Chicago-area counties, generating an estimated $478 million annually.
Natural Resources Defense Council Senior Transportation Advocate Muhammed Patel praised the governor and the General Assembly for delivering the transit package.
“Illinois is at the forefront of providing safe, reliable alternatives to car travel that will lead to cleaner air and reduce pollution from our transportation sector,” Patel said in a statement.
Illinois Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said Pritzker signed a bailout for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, paid for by suburban taxpayers.
“It is going to make life even more expensive for suburban families with tax hikes and surcharges, while reducing suburban representation on transit decisions,” Curran said in a statement.
Approximately $860 million in annual transit funding is expected to come from a diversion of the state’s motor fuel tax. 85% of the diversion would go to NITA with the other 15% slated for downstate transit.
Illinois currently has the second-highest gas tax in the nation.
SB 2111 also provides for an estimated $200 million in road fund and state construction account fund interest to be spent on transit.
National Federation of Independent Business Illinois State Director Noah Finley said higher sales taxes in Chicago-area counties are just one part of the legislation that will be costly for consumers.
“The bill raises tolls significantly in this area as well, which will make it much more expensive to transit goods, so my trucking members, farmers, any retailers,” Finley said.
Hospitality Business Association of Chicago Managing Director Pat Doerr said higher sales taxes will hurt establishments in the city.
“It’s going to be 15% to go out to dinner downtown, because we have the McCormick tax on top of that. That’s going to be shocking to the casual visitor,” Doerr said.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Food and Beverage tax is a 1% tax administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue and imposed on sales in downtown Chicago and nearby neighborhoods of food prepared for immediate consumption, alcoholic beverages, and soft drinks. The tax revenue is collected to fund the McCormick Place convention center and McCormick Square.
The Office of Executive Inspector General recently found that the Chicago Transit Authority paid more than a million dollars over five years to employees for not working. Asked by The Center Square how SB 2111 addresses accountability, Pritzker said it aims to have internal audits and executive director oversight.
“They made sure that that happened in the House with so many negotiators at the table making sure that we were going to have oversight for these various agencies, because we’re trying to integrate and become one system,” Pritzker answered.
According to a fact sheet provided by the governor’s office, “NITA sets standards and allocates funding accordingly to ensure accountability start to be implemented in 2028.”
State Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, said SB 2111 is just the beginning.
“We understand that there might be some fixtures, cleanup bills in the next few years that we might have to do, but the policy, the base work is there,” Hernandez told The Center Square.
Greg Bishop contributed to this story.
