(C) F Newsmagine
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Off the Rails [1]
['J.E Paeth', 'Please Enter Your Name Here']
Date: 2025-09-13 19:35:47+00:00
Page 1:
What’s Happening?
The Chicago Transit Authority, which operates Chicago’s public transportation system, is at risk of massive budget cuts in 2026, with an estimated 40% cut to all services.
The CTA currently has a budget crisis of $771 million following the end of the 2020 pandemic funding. The CTA has been using federal COVID-19 grant money, but ridership has not bounced back to pre-COVID-19 numbers, and federal resources are depleted, so the CTA is scrambling to find the funds.
According to the 2019 CTA Ridership Report, 455.7 million people rode the rail; in 2024, ridership only reached 309.2 million. That’s a drop of over 100 million riders, though a steady rise of 10% from 2023.
Without this federal funding, the CTA has turned to state-allocated funds to resolve the $770 million fiscal cliff. Without those funds, all CTA operations, including PACE, Metra, and many bus and train times, would be impacted.
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Who will this impact?
But what does a 40% loss of funding mean for the future of the CTA? According to The City Bureau, this could mean a complete loss of 74 of 127 bus lines, a 10% to 25% decrease in service for the Rail Network — including the Red, Blue, Brown, Orange, Green, and Pink lines — and Metra service.
These potential cuts in funding will have enormous repercussions for all Chicagoans, including those who rely on public transportation for access to school, work, and transportation around the city, with an average of 953,787 rides being taken on the CTA per week.
Cuts will also severely impact CTA employees. Three thousand of an estimated 10,000 CTA workers face potential layoffs.
Page 3:
School of the Art Institute of Chicago students are provided a CTA pass, giving students an unlimited number of rides per semester for $500, cutting the overall potential cost of ridership by nearly half. This allows the CTA to serve as a lifeline to the city outside of downtown and makes the city accessible to the student body.
Insert Student Survey: Do you, as an SAIC Student, consistently use or rely on Public Transit?
This potential loss in CTA service produces an increased instability for off-campus students and isolates SAIC students in downtown Chicago from the rest of the city’s vibrant community and culture.
Quote: “I just moved to Rogers Park after three years of living on campus, and losing the CTA would be the death of me. If the budget cuts happen… It would ruin something that makes Chicago so special.” – Mordecai Lehmen, BFA 2026
Quote: I can’t drive, so living in a city with good public transit is really important for me. I grew up navigating Boston’s crumbling transit system, and when I moved to Chicago, I was so impressed with how much better the CTA functioned. I rely entirely on the CTA to get to school and work, and even just longer wait times could completely hinder me from balancing both. – Aster Fortier, BFA 2026
Page 4
What can we do?
Organize: On July 13, 2025, a “Save Transit Rally” took place at Daley Plaza, with the organization of over 100 activist groups. Community action can bring attention to state representatives and Illinois governance about the potential impact the cuts will have.
Call or email your representatives: On the Regional Transit Authority website, there’s an option to input your zip code and address to locate your representatives and send an automatic email to them.
https://www.rtachicago.org/take-action
Keep using the CTA!
Sources:
https://enotrans.org/article/drama-in-chicago-and-philadelphia-the-transit-fiscal-cliff-has-arrived/
https://evanstonroundtable.com/2025/06/01/transit-agencies-prepare-for-service-cuts-as-state-fails-to-pass-funding-bill/
https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2025/03/21/cta-metra-pace-rta-service-cuts-financial-crisis-commuting-transportation
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