TransitTuesday, November 3
NITA proposes a $5.02 billion transit budget for CTA, Metra and Pace and wants your comments
The Daily Naperville team
If you ride CTA, Metra or Pace, NITA wants your input. The Northern Illinois Transit Authority's proposed 2027 operating budget is $5.02 billion, up from $4.3 billion. It's one budget covering NITA and the three agencies, something Chicago-area transit has never had.
NITA also added around $900 million in new funding to its $9.7 billion five-year capital plan, and the Red Line Extension gets the most. NITA's own operating budget would be $401 million, up from the former RTA's $48.8 million in 2026.
The Red Line Extension tops NITA's five-year capital spending
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
View as table
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Red Line Extension | $3,290 million |
| Metra battery-powered trains | $483 million |
| New CTA buses | $404 million |
- Fares: no increases in the 2027 budget
- CTA: all-night service on six bus routes
- Pace: Sunday service on Aurora routes 524, 530 and 533
- Metra: more frequent trains on the Rock Island Line
- Buses: over 200 electric or hybrid for CTA and Pace
Public comment on NITA's budget closes Dec. 4, ahead of a Dec. 10 vote
- Nov. 14NITA board hearing in the Loop, one of several public hearings
- Dec. 4Public comment on the draft budget closes
- Dec. 10NITA board plans to vote on a final budget
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Want to weigh in? The draft is online at nita.illinois.gov and open for comment through Dec. 4.
Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Evanston RoundTable, Daily Herald