From RTA to NITA: What Illinois’ Transit Overhaul Means for Riders

In the early hours of October 31, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act (NITA), a bill aimed at redirecting funds towards the major public transit agencies in Northern Illinois — the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), Metra and Pace. Additionally, the bill overhauls the administration of transit in Northern Illinois and aims to promote the development of infrastructure surrounding public transit. The law followed concern over the Regional Transit Authority (RTA)—which oversees the CTA, Metra and Pace—facing a fiscal gap.

Worries over a budget shortfall arose after the Regional Transit Authority reported an estimated $771 million deficit in revenue generated compared to the RTA budget for the 2026 fiscal year. This number was revised down to $230 million, but the shortfall was still a cause for concern for riders and legislators alike. 

If no additional funding was passed, the RTA announced that they were prepared to carry out staffing cuts and reduced hours of operations. This would potentially mean an end to the CTA’s 24-hour service as well as fare increases. Studies indicate that these cuts would  disproportionately impact impoverished communities, as public transportation provides these communities with greater access to health care, increased employment opportunities and helps bring more commerce into these neighborhoods. 

Amidst these fears, Illinois state Democrats came together in both the House and Senate to pass the funding law. This effort came after previous proposals aimed at addressing the issue failed due to the inclusion of controversial funding sources such as an increase on taxes for entertainment tickets. The law has not been universally welcomed, with Senate and House Republicans and downstate communities feeling slighted. Still, the bill was signed into law by JB Pritzker. It is now set to take effect on June 1, 2026. 

What Caused the Budget Shortfall?

This budget shortfall has mainly been attributed to post-COVID ridership numbers declining heavily. The CTA’s total ridership for 2024 shows an over 30% decrease from the ridership numbers reported in 2019. Scholars have attributed this drop to changing perceptions of safety on public transit, the increased popularity of working from home and a preference for online activity, amongst other factors.

A study by the Federal Transit Administration indicated that this decrease in ridership has led to public transit agencies increasingly relying on federal, state and local funding. At the same time, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that they would be pausing the remaining $2.1 billion of federal funding for Chicago public transit. This move comes as a result of the Trump administration’s push for anti-DEI initiatives, as the DOT claimed that the CTA took part in “race- and sex-based contracting requirements.” This funding pause has left Illinois public transit in a position of further financial vulnerability.

Professor Paula Worthington, a lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy, highlights another issue contributing to decreased ridership and budget issues. In her co-authored paper “Confronting Transit’s Fiscal Cliff in Illinois,” Worthington states that “the region’s unusual governance structure makes effective regional decision-making very difficult.”

Previously, the RTA required a “three-quarter supermajority voting requirement on all major decisions.” That means that for major votes to pass, such as funding decisions, the RTA needed at least 12 yes votes out of 16 votes. This could often make addressing issues and implementing change difficult, allowing votes to easily be blocked. 

Additionally, in an interview with The Gate, Worthington noted that the main consequence of the government structure is inconsistencies across the different forms of public transportation. There is no integrated fare system across Metra, Pace, and CTA, which causes difficulty and confusion for riders that are taking what is referred to as “two seat trips” — trips that entail transferring from one form of public transit to another. Additionally, there are discrepancies between cleanliness, performance standards, on-time frequency and scheduling, all of which can frustrate riders. 

As Worthington explains, “there’s a lot of ways in which under the existing structure, CTA did its thing, Metra did its thing, and Pace did its thing, and they didn’t talk to each other. [Instead], they fought over limited resources.” This is a key issue that the new legislation aims to address in its restructuring of the RTA Board into the NITA Board.

Funding and Governance Overhaul 

Previously, the RTA had stated that it had plans to increase CTA fares to help combat the shortfall. However, the passed law explicitly states that fares cannot be raised until one year after the law is passed, creating confusion on the status of these fare hikes. The Chicago Sun Times now reports that the RTA has walked these fare prices back due to the bill being passed. 

Instead of relying on a fare hike for more revenue, the newly passed transit law creates various new revenue streams for the CTA, Metra and Pace. One of the main revenue streams implemented is the redirection of $860 million a year from taxes on motor fuel to funding Illinois public transit. This redirection is intended to take funds from the motor industry and reinvest them into our public transit system. This tax revenue is in addition to all of the interest on the state’s Road Fund, the fund used by the Illinois Department of Transportation primarily to support road infrastructure. 

Additionally, Chicagoland residents will now pay 0.25% more in sales tax. The revenue from these taxes, combined with the other revenue sources, is expected to generate over $1.5 billion annually in new funding for Illinois public transit. 

The law also features an increase on toll prices. For regular travel usage this will be a 45-cent increase, and for commercial vehicles a 30% increase. The money made from these toll prices will be invested into Illinois’ motor industry. This is intended to make up for the revenue lost by the redirection of tax revenue on motor fuels and the Road Fund’s interest revenue.

The law also aims to address the issues with the RTA by transforming it into the Northern Illinois Transit Authority. Professor Worthington notes that one key change is the new requirements for the passing of board votes. The new NITA board of directors will be made up of twenty members, broken up into four blocs of five. For a proposal to pass, it can either acquire any fifteen votes, or twelve votes if every bloc has at least two “yes” votes. The RTA website provides a breakdown of the NITA’s board makeup: five directors will be appointed by the Mayor of Chicago, five will be appointed by the Governor of Illinois, five are appointed by the President of the Cook County Board, and the remaining five will each be appointed by one of the “collar counties” (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will County).

The intent behind the shift in board makeup is to allow for more votes to be passed and compromises to be made. Notably, of the twenty directors appointed to the board, seven will serve on the Pace board, six will serve on the Metra board,  and three will serve on the CTA board. This effectively “limits the ability of any one bloc to block a proposal that the other three stakeholder groups are in favor of,” according to Worthington. The change is intended to allow the board to take a more holistic approach toward public transit issues rather than votes getting deadlocked due to differing parochial interests.

Additionally, the law allows for more consistency across Northern Illinois transit. Worthington underscores that this restructuring “in principle, allows for meaningful input and preference articulation from each of [the] four blocs.” The law is expected to create more coordination between the different blocs and the different modes of public transportation in Northern Illinois.

A Big Bill With Big Potential

While Republicans and downstate legislators have expressed opposition to the law, it has also been met with a great deal of optimism. Worthington expressed the hope that the law may have “solved” the Illinois transit crisis. As for those that feel scorned by the law, she stated that “policy can fix or address [their concerns] with a fixer bill later.”

The law is a clear statement that Illinois public transit will continue to be supported no matter the issues and threats it may face. Proponents argue that investing in transit is vital in order to connect communities, provide access to important services, generate foot traffic, stimulate local economies and reduce the region’s carbon footprint. 

While this legislation resolves the transit challenges Northern Illinois faces, effective implementation, oversight and sustained investment will still be necessary. Still, as public transit across the country faces a crisis, the new law represents an important first step towards tackling the transit crisis and signals that transit will receive time, attention, and funding moving forward.

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