A new police force would patrol CTA, Metra and Pace routes under a sweeping transit reform bill introduced Thursday with the backing of a coalition of influential Illinois labor unions.
The proposal from the Labor Alliance for Public Transit would also give the Regional Transportation Authority stronger financial oversight over those agencies while requiring their board members to have the transit expertise needed for their posts — but each agency would remain autonomous.
That’s a departure from critics calling for a merger of the agencies under one state body, as lawmakers grapple with the $750 million-plus fiscal cliff facing the agencies starting in 2026.
“If the funding issues are left unaddressed, we will likely see drastic service cuts, massive job loss, and a failure to make much needed safety improvements,” Chicago Federation of Labor president Bob Reiter said in a statement. “Our bill addresses the system’s current shortcomings and critical needs, while providing support and a structure for delivering the improved public transit system the people of Illinois want and deserve.”
For months, legislators have been brainstorming ways to address the impending fiscal crisis that public transit leaders say could lead to massive fare hikes and a 40% reduction in train and bus service.
But many observers have argued a big infusion of state cash — estimated at upwards of $1 billion in additional yearly funding — should come with better oversight of agencies like the CTA that have been slammed for shoddy service, safety concerns and a slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A series of bills were introduced in Springfield last year seeking to combine the four transit agencies into one called the Metropolitan Mobility Authority. But supporters of the labor proposal dubbed “United We Move” argue each agency has its own unique needs and should maintain its own leadership.
The labor-backed bill would give the RTA, which currently has limited oversight over the three other transit agencies, the power to withhold roughly 10% in operational funds from agencies that don’t comply with reforms.
Those would include filing quarterly reports and ensuring board members have “diverse and substantial relevant experience and expertise” in transit, regional planning, business management, public administration, capital projects or transit advocacy. RTA and CTA leadership have come under scrutiny over the past few years for board members with little or no background in transit.
The labor bill also calls for a new RTA police force, supplementing the existing Metra Police Department and patrolling “transit property, vehicles, and stations along all routes” of the agencies.
Illinois AFL-CIO president Tim Drea said their bill “ensures that our hard-working transit agencies are well equipped to address regional transit’s complex challenges and serve their riders better.”
It largely mirrors a proposal floated last month by RTA chairman Kirk Dillard, including standardizing fares across the transit systems. Metra and Pace leaders have signaled support for such measures rather than be folded into a unified agency.
While the labor groups say they’re still identifying “a fiscally responsible solution” to pay for the plan, Dillard’s proposal included $1.5 billion in additional annual funding to increase bus and rail service along with 10% fare hikes.
The labor groups also want to lower the agencies’ farebox recovery ratio, or the percentage of their operating expenses that must be covered by passenger fares. Advocates say the state’s current 50% farebox recovery requirement is outdated and prevents public transit from being expanded into areas that have been historically underserved.
The bill is sponsored by Democratic Northwest Side state Sen. Ram Villivalam, who has also introduced a separate bill that would merge the agencies. Negotiations on that measure, perhaps the biggest issue facing the freshly inaugurated 104th General Assembly, are expected to stretch throughout the spring legislative session that concludes at the end of May.
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, which includes environmental groups and consumer advocates calling for a full merger of transit agencies, said they were pleased to have organized labor “joining the conversation about our system’s future.”
“We appreciate the work the Labor Alliance for Public Transit put into this thoughtful proposal and look forward to continuing the conversation to ensure Illinois’ transit system coordinates smooth, accessible and equitable service, connects folks to affordable active modes of transportation, and mitigates air and climate pollution,” the coalition said in a statement.