Safety reforms could be coming for Chicago area transit, but funding still up in the air

With just over two weeks to go before their spring adjournment, lawmakers in Springfield are facing a tight deadline to pass major reforms to Chicagoland’s transit system – but officials have released few concrete details of the plan they say is taking shape.

Influential lawmakers said one major element will be addressed: safety.

“We need to make sure that there are safety mechanisms that are implemented by transit security, that there are transit ambassadors for customer service and nonviolent situations, and there are social services for those that are in need of mental and behavioral health services,” Senate Transportation Committee Chair Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, said at a Thursday news conference.

Villivalam said transit safety reform should be rooted in data and “law enforcement expertise.” He cited the Los Angeles transit system, which he said has a similar number of riders as Chicago-area transit.

“We can look at their system and say these are how many officers they have, these are how many transit ambassadors they have and so forth,” Villivalam said.

Villivalam made the announcement alongside stte Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, a high-ranking House Democrat. Earlier this year, the two sponsored a transit reform proposal backed by more than 30 labor organizations. That bill outlined the creation of a new police force overseen by the Regional Transportation Authority.

“There’s no police presence. It makes no sense,” Evans said of the current Chicago transit landscape. “Across the world, not just this country: New York City? Dedicated police. Washington, D.C.? Dedicated police. Boston? Dedicated police presence. London? Dedicated police presence. Germany? Dedicated police presence.”

No final agreement has been reached for the expected reform bill. A spokesperson from the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, one of the advocacy groups involved in the transit negotiations, said that discussions dealing with public safety were scheduled for Thursday.

Late last month, two other lawmakers involved in the transit reform negotiations said Springfield insiders were nearing a deal that would resemble the labor-backed bill.

But that proposal doesn’t include a plan for funding the beleaguered Chicago-area agencies. While lawmakers have repeatedly stressed they are going to pass reforms before providing transit agencies new funding, agency heads and activists have consistently asked for financial support.

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, speaking to Capitol News Illinois on Thursday, didn’t commit to any details of the reform package, but did echo the need for safety reforms

“We have to have reforms before we even talk about revenue. We have to improve the ridership experience,” Welch said. “We have to improve rider safety. We have to improve safety for the employees on these trains and on these buses.”

Welch also pointed to a group of House lawmakers he convened who are “getting close on agreements.”

Chicagoland transit agencies – Chicago Transit Authority, Pace Suburban Bus, Metra commuter rail service and the RTA oversight agency – face a collective $770 million budget shortfall beginning this summer.

The RTA says that unless the state steps in with funding help, that budget gap will grow even as the transit agencies will have to make massive cuts to service in the region.

But that funding might not come from the state.

Villivalam said Thursday that conversations are continuing around how to handle the issue and declined to provide specifics. Instead, he pointed to past proposals from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and RTA without indicating what options, if any, lawmakers will adopt.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.