Editor’s Note
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Quote of the Week
“Expanding access to include CTA, to include Pace would make transit affordable for so many low-income households.”
— Peter Kersten, manager of strategy and policy at Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)
[Regular Board Meeting of Chicago Transportation Board, Feb. 12, 2025]
(Accessible) transit is the answer
A pilot program providing reduced fares for low-income Metra riders is ending, but there’s still time for passengers to apply for the lower ticket prices.
The Access Pilot Program provides reduced fares to recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) who live in the Chicagoland region. The pilot ends July 23. Eligible riders may apply here. The 18-month program is a partnership between Regional Transportation Authority, Metra and Cook County, each contributing to administrative costs and lost operations revenue.
The program has provided 117,000 reduced-fare rides, said Peter Kersten, manager of strategy and policy at the RTA. There are 4,600 riders benefitting from the program, 75% of whom are from Cook County. RTA saw the strongest ridership on Electric and and Rock Island lines on the South Side and south suburban Cook County, serving over half of all Access rides.
Expanding the program to CTA and Pace relies on additional state funds, Kersten said. RTA leaders hope for more governmental support to continue funding free and reduced fare as well as ADA paratransit programs, particularly the local transit systems face a fiscal cliff in 2026.
“We know that expansion would broadly increase the impact of the program,” said Kersten, pointing to the concentration of low-income households on the West Side and western Cook County. “Funding of these critical programs go a long way towards solving the fiscal cliff.”
Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors by Kenji Granberry and Jennifer Lenz
Bond proposal hits speed bump
City Council has yet to vote on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s bond proposal, which would allow the city to borrow $830 million to upgrade outdated infrastructure – including lead service line replacements. Alds. Anthony Beale (9th) and Ray Lopez (15th) utilized a legislative maneuver known as “defer and publish,” in which two alders can make a motion to delay the vote until the next scheduled meeting.
Council members are at odds over the bond proposal. Ald. Bill Conway (34th) wanted to go on record as voting “no,” saying that although he supports the ordinance, he doesn’t support the proposed debt structure. He noted that Chicago already carries one of the heaviest debt loads in the country (most of which resides in the city’s pension debt). Ald. William Hall (6th) expressed frustration at those opposing the debt structure, suggesting that some of his colleagues “pump the brakes” when money is being made available to fund projects in Black and Brown communities.
Chicago City Council by Grace Vaughn and Karmeisha Boyd
Many months later
There was a sharp decline in the disciplinary cases decided by the Chicago Police Board in 2024. The drop is because of the large number of cases put on hold due to the ongoing litigation on the arbitration of police discipline, according to a presentation given by board President Kyle Cooper on the impact of the litigation.
The Fraternal Order of Police has fought a Cook County Circuit Court ruling requiring publicly held arbitration hearings for officers facing termination or lengthy suspensions. There are currently 16 discharge cases and one 366-day suspension case on hold. These cases will stay on hold unless the accused officers consent to a Police Board hearing or until the Illinois Appellate Court decides on the case regarding arbitration, which is expected to take several months.
Chicago Police Board by Angela Arias Zapata and Stephen Simpson
A version of this story was first published in the February 26, 2025 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Civic Editor Dawn Rhodes at dawn@citybureau.org.