Halloween was actually Christmas morning for us planning nerds, as we woke up to discover that in the wee hours of the morning, the Illinois legislature passed a transformative transportation bill.
You may have heard that our public transit system has been facing a funding crisis ever since COVID. This challenge was not unique to Chicago; every transit system in the country was facing the same doomsday scenario.
I wasn’t sure we had it in us to find a solution — doing hard things seems extra hard these days, and other cities simply couldn’t rise to the challenge. Philadelphia left its riders stranded by cutting routes and raising fares instead of finding a sustainable fix, a devastating outcome for vulnerable residents who rely on reliable bus and train service.
But give credit where credit is due: The Illinois legislature came together to not just find a funding solution but took the opportunity to completely reimagine how we can support all forms of non-car transportation — statewide! It’s a national model for how to prioritize pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders over cars.
At 1,043 pages, I’m guessing most Oak Parkers haven’t read the bill and don’t know what it means for them. So my eager intern Claude and I dug in so you don’t have to.
Effective June 2026, the new law reorganizes the region’s transit agencies with a goal of creating “one network, one schedule, one fare,” with more accountability for reliability and cleanliness. It means CTA, Metra, and Pace will actually work together, which is great news for a community like ours, served by all three.
Meanwhile, the village can now be reimbursed for the time and resources our police spend responding to incidents on or near transit stations. Hopefully that leads to closer coordination with CTA and Metra police, and a shift from reactive policing to shared strategies for keeping stations safe and welcoming.
Bike riders, this bill has your back, implementing new rules that align state law with how people actually ride. Cyclists will be able to treat stop signs as yield signs (the “Idaho Stop”), ride side by side when it’s safe, and even go the opposite way on one-way streets where allowed. As Oak Park continues to roll out its bike boulevards, making sure people understand what legal biking looks like will be key, especially now that it’s consistent statewide.
But my favorite part, hands down, is the People Over Parking Act (best name ever)! It eliminates parking minimums for new development within a half-mile of a train station or 1/8 mile of a frequent bus route — and we have a lot of those in Oak Park.
I’ve long argued that parking minimums are one of the biggest barriers to building more affordable multifamily housing (https://www.oakpark.com/2023/05/23/oak-park-should-eliminate-parking-minimums). Parking spaces are costly and drive up rents. Removing that mandate makes smaller, more affordable projects feasible, and studies show developments near transit attract residents with fewer cars. More neighbors, less cars? Sounds right-sized to me.
One last note of local pride: Nora Leerhsen, acting CTA president since February 2025, is an Oak Parker. She’s done a fabulous job stepping into a challenging role and made a clear and compelling case for why we deserve this investment. It’s time to give her the job permanently.
Nicole Chavas is an Oak Parker and stalwart Green Line rider who has always refused to live any farther than 1/2 mile from a CTA train stop.