EDITORIAL: Broken Tracks and Empty Promises: Will Illinois Lawmakers Save the CTA Or Just Delay Its Collapse?

As Chicago stares down a $770 million CTA budget shortfall, lawmakers pitch temporary fixes instead of long-term reform, putting the future of public transit at risk

Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D May 30, 2025

Marco Verch [CC BY 2.0]

As Illinois lawmakers wrangle over how to fill the Chicago Transit Authority’s alarming $770 million budget hole, one thing has become painfully clear: they’re far more interested in political optics than structural solutions. For a transit system that is the economic spine of a city already suffering from disinvestment, inequality, and urban flight, this debate could shape Chicago’s future for decades, or derail it completely.

The proposed ideas on the table range from mildly hopeful to dangerously shortsighted. Tapping into sales tax revenue growth, redirecting gambling revenue, and expanding ride-share surcharges are among the more popular suggestions being suggested. On their face, these proposals might seem like easy solutions: politically acceptable, quick to put into place, and unlikely to cause significant public backlash.

But when you peel back the surface, the cracks begin to show. None of these options provide a sustainable, long-term funding mechanism. They offer band-aids for a hemorrhaging system.

To be fair, there are a few glimmers of responsible thinking. The idea of tying funding to long-term regional economic growth, such as boosting transit-oriented development, could be part of a more visionary strategy. If paired with investment in underserved neighborhoods, it has the potential to generate both increased ridership and broader tax bases. But without structural policy alignment, equity protections, and proper oversight, even that could collapse under its own weight.

The real failure here is the unwillingness to confront hard truths. Chicago’s public transportation system is at a crossroads; declining ridership, aging infrastructure, and eroded public trust have all converged into a fiscal nightmare. Lawmakers know this. Yet rather than propose structural reforms such as implementing congestion pricing, reevaluating pension obligations, or seriously restructuring service models for efficiency and equity, they appear to be trying to sidestep controversy.

Redirecting gambling revenue is particularly telling. It's a volatile source tied to an industry known for cyclical instability. Using it to fund core transportation infrastructure is like trying to pay a mortgage with lottery tickets. It might work once. It won’t work forever.

Similarly, ride-share surcharges, though helpful in correcting market imbalances, risk pushing consumers further away from transit if they’re not paired with visible service improvements. Without that, the public views them as just another tax with no tangible return. And let’s not forget that relying on sales taxes makes the CTA budget especially vulnerable to economic downturns. If there's a recession, if consumer spending dips, the revenue dries up, and we’re back to square one.

That’s the problem: most of these ideas are stopgap measures that treat the symptoms, not the disease. They may patch the hole in 2026, but they do nothing to stop the pipe from bursting again in 2028. The General Assembly seems far too comfortable with the illusion of progress instead of the substance of it.

Chicagoans deserve better. Riders, many of whom are low-income, disabled, or transit-dependent, should not be held hostage by political smoke and mirrors or superficial accounting tricks. Public transportation isn’t just about mobility. It’s about access to opportunity, health, education, and jobs. Failing to stabilize the CTA is not just a fiscal problem, it’s a social one.

Even more troubling is the lack of urgency around reforming how transit funds are allocated statewide. The RTA and CTA serve millions in northeastern Illinois, yet downstate lawmakers balk at funding proposals that don’t directly benefit their districts. That’s understandable. Politics is local. But it reveals a failure of statewide leadership. If Illinois wants to function as a united economic community, its lawmakers must treat transit in Chicago as a shared priority, not a local nuisance.

Long-term consequences are not just hypothetical, they're practically guaranteed. Continued financial instability will scare off private investment, deter potential residents, and strip the workforce pipeline that relies on reliable transportation. If riders continue to flee, and costs continue to rise, the CTA could enter a death spiral that’s almost impossible to recover from. And then what? Do we privatize the system? Do we cut more routes, further isolating communities?

The most damning part of this debate is that it feels like déjà vu. We’ve seen the same cycle, budget crisis, political finger-pointing, half-baked solution, repeat itself again and again. Every time, the hole gets deeper. Every time, the choices get harder. Eventually, there may be no rabbit left in the hat.

To avoid that fate, lawmakers must summon the political courage to embrace systemic change. That means exploring recurring revenue sources that are resilient to economic shocks. It means investing in ridership recovery strategies that actually work, not just marketing campaigns. It means aligning transportation goals with climate, housing, and labor policies. And it means treating the CTA like the lifeline it is, not a fiscal liability.

This isn’t just about the trains and buses. It’s about who we are as a city, and whether we have the moral and political backbone to invest in our shared future. If lawmakers fail to act boldly, the consequences will be far more expensive, and far more painful, than any tax hike or tough vote they’re trying to avoid today.