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How Illinois Pulled Off a ‘Halloween Miracle’ to Save Chicago Transit

By all accounts, it was everyone's commitment to ensure there weren't massive service cuts to the million-plus people that ride public transit every day and an enormous amount of pink slips that would have gone out for the thousands of workers that provide those transit rides.
How Illinois Pulled Off a ‘Halloween Miracle’ to Save Chicago Transit
This post is sponsored by The Bike Lane.

On Friday morning, October 31, Streetsblog interviewed Illinois House Majority Leader Eva-Dina Delgado. She was operating on minimal sleep after staying up until 5 a.m. for the passage of the $1.5 billion transit reform/funding bill at the state capitol. But she was also in a celebratory mood. The legislation she co-sponsored with Rep. Kam Buckner had finally crossed the finish line, not only saving Chicagoland transit, but also paving the way for first-class regional and Downstate bus and train service.

The post State Sen. Ram Villivalam, sponsor of the Senate transit bill, discusses the Halloween Miracle that allowed robust reform and funding to pass appeared first on Streetsblog Chicago.

Photo of John Greenfield
In addition to editing Streetsblog Chicago, John writes the transportation column for the Chicago Reader weekly paper. A Chicagoan since 1989, he enjoys exploring the city on foot, bike, bus, and 'L' train.

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