Progress Illinois

It's no secret that the biggest barrier to creating a state-of-the-art public transportation system here in Illinois is funding. No one has made that more clear than the state's regional transit agencies, who've threatened to cut even basic services under recent ...

Even during the most contentious moments of the stalemate over the state budget this spring, one point that many lawmakers agreed on was that the federal stimulus package had provided state government with a lifeline. Without the $6.5 billion cash infusion, school budgets...

On Tuesday, Crain's Greg Hinz reported that after signing a $3 billion mini-capital bill earlier this month for roads and public transit work, Gov. Pat Quinn's office had strangely agreed to release only money for roads. The dispute revolved around bonds -- Quinn's ...

When the CTA, RTA, and Pace all raised fares last fall, making Chicago-area transit one of the most expensive systems in the nation, board members hinted that their agencies weren’t out of the woods, despite the new revenues. Yesterday, the Tribune’s Jon Hilkevitch ...