Early this morning, the Illinois Legislature passed a bill that averts the fiscal cliff at Metra, PACE and CTA by providing $1.5 billion in public transit funding. Governor Pritzker is expected to sign bill into law.
About 300 BLET members work for Metra as locomotive engineers. Metra is one of the largest commuter rail systems in the United States, serving the six-county Chicago area.
“Illinois stepped back from the fiscal cliff,” said BLET National President Mark Wallace. “This is good news not only for our members but for everyone who relies on public transit, everyone who doesn’t want to be stuck in traffic, and for Illinois’ overall economy.”
SB 2111 would fund mass transit through a variety of ways, such as shifting motor fuel tax revenues to mass transit purposes as allowed by state statute and redirecting interest on the state’s road fund to transit. There are no fare increases on public transit in the first year after the bill’s passage. The bill also creates the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, which will shift authority from the Regional Transit Authority to a new entity that will oversee operations of the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace and Metra.
“This legislation is only possible because of the care and commitment of shown by several groups in the state including the Governor’s office, State Senate President Don Harmon, State Senators Ram Villivalam and Celina Villanueva, House Speaker Chris Welch, and State Representatives Eva-Dina Delgado and Kam Buckner,” said BLET Illinois State Legislative Board Chairman Cory Martin.
Members of the BLET’s Illinois State Legislative Board, led by Chairman Martin, worked tirelessly to secure this legislation. Since January of this year, the BLET has been an active part of a 30-member coalition of Illinois-based transportation labor unions that has lobbied in favor of funding the state’s public transportation system. Fellow Teamster Rail Conference affiliate BMWED as well as Teamsters Joint Council 25 were also a part of the coalition, known as the Labor Alliance for Public Transportation.
“We would like to extend our deepest appreciation and thanks to IL State AFL-CIO President Tim Drea and Legislative Director Frances Orenic who led this coalition,” Chairman Martin said.
Funding for mass transit is an issue around the country, not only in Illinois but in Pennsylvania as well. The Pennsylvania State Senate has failed to approve funding for public transit, placing SEPTA and 52 other mass transit agencies across the Commonwealth at risk of substantial service cuts. The BLET continues to work in Pennsylvania to secure the necessary funding for all 53 transit agencies.
Metra photo: courtesy of retired BLET Member David Daruszka, Division 131