In the early morning hours of Oct. 31, while most Illinoisans were asleep, legislative Democrats pushed through a sweeping overhaul of the state’s public transit system.

The 1,000-plus page bill was passed at 4 a.m., without a single committee hearing or opportunity for public input. The timing alone should raise alarms, but the substance of the bill is even more troubling.

It amounts to a massive bailout for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his chronically-mismanaged Chicago Transit Authority. Who is footing the bill? Rural taxpayers and small communities that will see minimal benefit in return.

For decades, Illinois has relied on a stable formula for distributing revenue from the sales tax paid on motor fuel. Historically, those dollars have been split 55% for downstate/rural transportation needs and 45% for transportation systems in the Chicago region. This long-standing structure acknowledged that while Chicagoland relies heavily on rail and bus networks, communities like ours outside the Chicagoland area must maintain thousands of miles of roads and bridges.

The new transit funding package throws that precedent out the window. Now, 85% of those dollars will go to a new transit authority that benefits Chicago and nearby suburbs, and only 15% will be left for everyone else, including those of us living in Northwest Illinois. That means Chicago transit will get about $731 million each year, while the rest of the state receives only $129 million. Rural areas lose nearly $473 million a year through this change, and Gov. JB Pritzker is loudly supportive.

All told, taxpayers outside the Chicago region will now be forced to subsidize more than half a billion dollars every year to bail out Chicago’s transit system. Riders have long reported unreliable service, staffing shortages, deteriorating stations and safety concerns. Yet instead of requiring reforms, performance benchmarks, or accountability, the legislature handed Chicago leaders a blank check and sent the invoice to the rest of the state.

Meanwhile, families and businesses outside of Chicago already shoulder higher transportation costs. We drive longer distances to work, school, hospitals, and grocery stores and depend on safe roads and bridges, yet we are expected to sacrifice even more, while receiving less. It is fundamentally unfair, but typical of how Illinois Democrats operate.

Illinois should not be a state where one region prospers at the direct expense of another. Additionally, significant financial and policy decisions should not be brokered while the public sleeps. And finally, taxpayers should not be treated like a bottomless piggy bank to bail out politically powerful interests.

Illinoisans deserve transparency, fairness, and a transportation system that serves the whole state, not just Chicagoland. Unfortunately, the passage of SB 2111 in the dead of night is just the latest example of how Illinois Democrats do business.

Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport, is the Illinois state senator for the 45th District.