CHICAGO, IL — The Chicago City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Way today voted overwhelmingly to support a resolution calling on the Illinois General Assembly to invest $1.5 billion in transit to avert the impending transit fiscal cliff and reform Northeastern Illinois’ transit system to ensure transit is fast, frequent, reliable, clean, and safe. In response, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition released the following statement:
“With just over two weeks left for Illinois lawmakers to act on the transit fiscal cliff that will result in a massive 40% cut to all public transit trains and bus service, the Chicago City Council’s overwhelming support of $1.5 billion in transit funding and significant reforms reflects the dire need for a monumental solution to the current crisis. Approximately one million Chicagoans and visitors rely on public transit daily to access jobs, healthcare, retail, and recreation throughout the Chicagoland region; the public transit system is a major employer providing essential services; and public transit delivers significant environmental and climate benefits.
“The current status quo stands in the way of taking Chicagoans where they want to go safely and affordably, and alders and Chicagoans across the region alike agree that $1.5 billion in funding is needed this spring to close the funding gap and transform the system to deliver a world-class public transit system for Illinoisans across the Chicagoland region.”
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