Illinois tolls could go up by 50 cents in Villivalam’s transit proposal

CHICAGO — State lawmakers met Thursday to discuss how to avoid a large public transit budget shortfall and the plan that was discussed could mean toll increases and public charging station fees for electric vehicles.

Facing a $770 million budgetary gap in 2026 due to the expiration of Federal COVID-19 grant funding, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) has warned riders could see significant service cuts soon, if the shortfall is not addressed.

On Thursday, State Sen. Ram Villivalam presented a plan to the Senate Transportation Committee that he says could help prevent Chicago-area transit agencies from going over the edge.

The proposed legislation would create the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, which would shift oversight of the CTA, Metra and Pace from the Regional Transit Authority to a new 20-member board.

The plan would cover the pending fiscal cliff, but agencies say even more money is needed to make long-term changes to transit systems. The bill, if passed, would also create a unified fare system that would provide unarmed staff for customer service assistance at stations and on trains, and develop a law enforcement task force with a regional safety strategy in mind.

The revenue proposals in Villivalam’s plan would include toll increases up to 50 cents, a public electric vehicle charging fee of 6 cents per kilowatt hour, and the extension of the Real Estate Transfer Tax and rideshare fee to suburban Cook County and the collar counties.

Negotiations on Villivalam’s plan are ongoing with some changes possible. State lawmakers now have until Saturday at midnight to pass a transit budget plan, otherwise, service cuts could begin to take place.