A warning has been issued to anyone who takes public transportation in Chicago — with drastic service cuts looming, Illinois legislators only have until the end of the month to decide what to do and how to address it.
Transit advocates are taking to the streets every week to warn riders. They say the cuts are as bad as transit agencies say they are, and they are not empty threats.
The advocates also say time is running out.
“There is a crisis we’re facing,” said Kyle Lucas of Better Streets Chicago. “It is as bad as they are saying.”
The crisis iso a fiscal cliff in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The “they” Lucas referenced is the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace suburban buses.
Amy Rynell of the Active Transportation Alliance and Dany Robles of the Illinois Environmental Council are both in Springfield working with legislators now.
“I think what we’re feeling is the urgency behind it,” Robles said.
“What other states give to their regional transit? It’s a lot more,” added Rynell.
Rynell and Robles said when cuts were made to local mass transit service due to the Great Recession back in 2008, some of the changes in service were never reversed.
“There are routes we’ve never gotten back from that process,” said Rynell.
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