As Chicago-area transit agencies enter an uncertain budget year, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is preparing for potential service cuts. 

The General Assembly failed to pass a transit reform and revenue package before a crucial May 31 deadline. This has left things up in the air as the RTA, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace face a combined $771 million deficit, which is the result of federal Covid-19 funding ending in 2026.  

During the RTA’s board meeting Wednesday, members heard presentations on the current budget and plans for the 2026 budgeting process.  

As of April, the CTA, Metra and Pace have all remained below their 2025 budgets due to lower than expected operating expenses. The ADA Paratransit, which is a shared ride service for people whose health or disability may prevent them from using standard service, is about 8.2 percent above where they should be.  

Sarah Rubino, RTA’s principal analyst, said this represents a growing deficit for ADA Paratransit. RTA approved $25.5 million in May to address the 2024 shortfall. The board heard an action plan to address the growing deficit Thursday. That plan includes reviewing the driver certification program, capping certain rides per month and plans to discuss a fare increase in 2026.  

Going into the new budget cycle, the agencies are planning as if they will be in a deficit, as funding from the state is uncertain.  

The board approved a timeline for this year’s process. The RTA and service boards will review funding for operations and capital projects over the summer. Capital budget from the service boards will be due Oct. 3, and full budgets will be due Oct. 10.  

A public hearing is planned for October or November, though an exact date has not yet been selected. The service boards will present their budgets during the RTA’s Nov. 20 meeting, and a second public hearing will be held in early December.  

The budgets and capital programs will be considered for adoption during the board’s Dec. 18 meeting.  

RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard is creating a committee that will meet biweekly to discuss solutions for the fiscal cliff. Dillard said he’s asking the chairs of the respective transit agencies to take part in the committee, as well as representatives from the city, Cook County and the collar counties. He said the goal is to reach a regional consensus on a funding and governance solution.  

He said he hopes the legislature and governor’s office will use the committee and the agencies when discussing reform and funding for the agencies.  

If a funding package is not passed before the end of the year, the agencies have warned the deficit could lead to drastic cuts.  

Read more: CTA, Metra, Pace could see 40 percent cut in services in 2026 without state intervention 

Cuts could include CTA reducing service on four of its eight train lines and reducing bus routes from 127 to 74. Metra could reduce service frequency, and Pace could eliminate weekend service entirely.  

Legislative update 

Rob Nash, director of government affairs for the RTA, said they were disappointed to see the transit package fail to pass, but said they felt they were halfway to the finish line.  

House Bill 3438 cleared the Senate just before midnight on May 31, but was not called for a vote in the House. The measure would have seen a restructuring of the governing board overseeing Chicago-area transit, as well as a revenue package to fill the fiscal cliff.  

Read more: Transit reform fails to clear Illinois General Assembly after missing constitutional deadline 

One issue the RTA had with the legislation is that while it included additional safety measures they supported, the funding would have come out of their operational funding. Nash said this would limit resources to support transit services.  

But he said they estimated the proposal would generate about $1.01 billion in revenue for the transit agencies, plus some additional revenue for capital projects.  

“I think we should not operate on the assumption that any of that is a given,” he said. “We have to sort of restart this conversation now that we've gone into overtime.”   

Nash said they also met with the Illinois Department of Revenue to include clarifying language that the grocery sales tax, which supports the RTA, is still in effect. He said the tax is different from the grocery sales tax the Illinois General Assembly repealed.  

Nash said this would protect $70 million in estimated revenue for the RTA and $35 million for the collar counties.  

He said they’re concerned that even if funding is passed during the fall veto session, it won’t pass with 60 percent of the vote. That would mean the legislation would not be able to go into effect until June 1, 2026. He said that would also lead to service cuts.  

The General Assembly is scheduled to return to Springfield Oct. 14 for the fall veto session.  

Nash said his office has also been working alongside staff from the respective service boards to create a unified federal agenda to communicate regional needs to Illinois’ congressional delegation and other federal officials.  

He said the agenda includes capital funding needed to preserve and expand service, streamlining the regulatory process for federally funded projects, maintaining existing grants and re-establishing a federal program to deliver federal operating assistance to large transit agencies.