Chicago transit executives praise new state infrastructure spending law

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker late last week signed into law Rebuild Illinois, a $45 billion capital spending plan described by Chicago transit officials as the "largest infrastructure program" in state history.

The new law ends a decade without a capital spending bill in Illinois, according to a joint statement issued by Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, Pace and Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) executives.

"It will have transformative effects on the regional transit system for which the RTA, CTA, Metra and Pace are responsible," they said.

Rebuild Illinois provides sustainable "pay as you go" funding that will generate about $227 million per year for capital investments in northeast Illinois' transit systems and $25 million for transit elsewhere in the state, the executives wrote.

"Adding a further $2.7 billion in bonding revenue for our region over the next five years, the bill begins to address an over-reliance on federal funds for capital and provides the type of consistent funding that is essential for effective planning and programming of projects," they added. "While the total falls short of the region's $30 billion in transit capital needs over the next decade, make no mistake: It is a significant step forward."

Signing the letter were RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden, Metra Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Jim Derwinski, CTA President Dorval Carter and Pace Executive Director Rocky Donahue.

To pay for the program, state lawmakers approved measures to expand gambling, raise the gas tax by 19 cents a gallon and raise the cigarette tax by $1 a pack.