Public transit funding and pension reform, budget and Bears stadium are big issues in final week of legislative session

Chicago Tribune

26-05-2025

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers head into the final days of their spring session this week looking for ways to close a substantial gap in the budget while at the same time shoring up ailing public transit operations and taking steps to fix inequities in the state's pension system.
The General Assembly also could move on Gov. JB Pritzker's legislative goals, such as further abortion protections and cryptocurrency regulation. Also still unresolved is whether the state will provide any help for the Chicago Bears' potential relocation to Arlington Heights.
As happens every spring, much of the most serious business in the four-month spring legislative session has been left to the final hours.
But legislative leaders have also warned there's also a chance that, to maintain a balanced budget, legislators will have to return to Springfield after their scheduled adjournment on Saturday, May 31, because of uncertainty over federal funding under President Donald Trump's administration.
Democratic Sen. Elgie Sims of Chicago, the lead budget negotiator for the Senate Democrats, likened the situation with federal funding to the factors that led to a two-year plus budget impasse under Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, which decimated social services and hurt the state's economy.
'There was a great deal of uncertainty, so we couldn't predict what was going to happen from one moment to the next,' Sims said. 'It has a feel like that coming out of Washington. But that's why you have to stay the course, make sure that we have a clear understanding of what the priorities are, of what the needs are.'
While Democrats have solid control of the General Assembly, haggling about the $55.2 billion budget Pritzker proposed in February could divide party progressives and moderates, especially over issues such as health insurance for noncitizen immigrants under 65, which the governor did not fund in his proposal.
Republicans have long complained about being left out of the budget process, but Sen. Seth Lewis of Bartlett, who works on budget matters for the GOP, said he was happy about one thing this year: Pritzker's message that funding requests must be limited in a tight financial year.
'The governor's early warnings to all interested parties has (tamped) down at least the public requests for more money,' Lewis said. 'We don't know what's coming. But from the tone that I have experienced around the Capitol, the requests for funding for everyone and everything do seem to be (tamped) down.'
'That also (tamps) down any requests for additional revenue,' he said. 'I think that also (tamps) down and forces our agencies to look at what and where they're spending. So, if we can continue this and improve upon it, that'll be good for the residents of Illinois.'
Although the GOP has little power to effect change, House Republicans have voiced opposition to any proposal that calls for increased spending or any potential tax hikes. Republicans regularly note state budgets in Illinois have risen from about $40 billion to more than $50 billion in the past decade under Democratic leadership.
'The Democrats' answer for tax reform is revenue. More revenue. We need to be looking at this as a holistic approach,' said House GOP leader Tony McCombie of Savanna. 'We know we need to lower our corporate income tax here in Illinois. We know, every one of us, as we're getting our property tax bills with increases this year, we know we have to have some real reform there and we cannot piecemeal this.'
An April report from the legislature's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability showed the state's revenue growth has fallen $471 million short of the $55 billion in state revenues Pritzker used in his February budget proposal.
The bleak financial outlook makes the challenge of addressing reforms and funding to Chicago-area and downstate transit systems especially tough. The Chicago area's transit infrastructure faces a projected fiscal cliff of hundreds of millions of dollars as COVID-pandemic-related federal funds are set to run out by the beginning of next year.
Prompted by years of customer dissatisfaction, a proposal to combine the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, Pace and the Regional Transportation Authority is now on the table but has been met with pushback from labor groups. Legislation tying a bailout of the CTA to limits on the mayor's influence on the transit boards is also being considered. There have also been discussions about a single police force for all Chicago-area transit systems.
The RTA, which oversees the CTA, Metra and Pace, wants Springfield to allocate $1.5 billion in new funding to overhaul the system. The CTA has outlined a doomsday scenario for Chicago-area transit if lawmakers don't act on reforms and funding by May 31.
'The magnitude of these cuts is unprecedented and would require several rounds of schedule adjustments in 2026 and beyond,' CTA spokesperson Catherine Hosinski has said.
Orlando Rojas, a train conductor for Metra, said there's been talk that 300 jobs, possibly including train conductors and engineers, could be in jeopardy at the agency if transit reforms and accompanying funding aren't put into place in the near future.
'The jobs would basically … be a lot less desirable and probably, you know, have to work longer hours, less desirable hours, just to meet the needs of the remaining service,' said Rojas, a union representative for Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation Local 653.
Sarah Chiappe, a line cook at a downtown Chicago hotel, takes the Red Line or a bus to work for her 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift. She said she worries that cuts in service could require her to take more expensive ride-sharing options home more often.
'I love taking the train. It gives me a chance to clear my mind on my way to work,' Chiappe said. 'I can finish book after book instead of going through the stressfulness of driving a car everyday to work. But God knows that road rage is a real thing in the city.'
One key lawmaker involved in transit talks, Sen. Ram Villivalam, said he's 'cautiously optimistic' there could be some sort of resolution on the transit issue by the end of the month.
'We're continuing our conversations. There's a lot of consensus as it relates to centralizing responsibilities such as fare policies, capital planning, service planning and so much more, to a central authority,' Villivalam said last week. 'And I think we're continuing to stay with our mantra of no funding without reform.'
Lawmakers could also consider changes to the state's pension system that grants greater benefits to recipients who were employed by the state prior to 2011, when changes to the massively underfunded system took effect, compared with workers hired since then.
The goal of the Tier 2 plan created back then was to shrink a pension debt that now runs to about $141 billion. However, at some point, benefits paid out under the system won't be equal to what Social Security would provide to those employees, a violation of a federal 'safe harbor' law. This would require the state to pay large sums in Social Security taxes instead of operating its own pension system which, while still costly, allows the state more flexibility.
The Pritzker administration has proposed allocating $78 million toward addressing the Tier 2 issue, a figure that Sen. Robert Martwick, a key lawmaker involved in the pension negotiations, thinks could rise as negotiations continue.
'There are different benefit structures throughout the state of Illinois and that means a one-size-fits-all is difficult. But I think we're (homing) in. We've had serious discussions between the House and the Senate, and the governor's office, and I feel like we're narrowing in on a potential solution,' said Martwick, a Chicago Democrat.
He acknowledged the goal is to make moderate changes to pension guidelines as they relate to an employee's final average salary, retirement age and other factors.
'I think there are all kind of ingredients. I don't know that we'll do all of them, or to what degree we'll do any of them,' he said. 'But those are all the different (things) that we're working on, trying to come up with a solution that works for the state, works for the taxpayers, works for our employees.'
While the Bears signaled earlier this month they aren't seeking significant state funding for a new stadium, the team does acknowledge a move to Arlington Heights would be contingent on legislative action allowing for the negotiated financing of large-scale developments. This so-called megaproject legislation would allow them to negotiate with local governments over property tax bills.
But passing such a measure quickly might be a tall order, especially for Chicago lawmakers with an interest in keeping the team in the city.
There are at least three megaprojects-related bills sitting in the legislature that could provide the Bears some sort of path to work on with lawmakers in trying to ease their move to Arlington Heights if the northwest suburb officially becomes their new home.
'Apparently the Bears have made a proposal on what version, which is a combination of all three, that they want to negotiate,' Sen. Mark Walker, an Arlington Heights Democrat who is sponsoring one of those bills, said May 16, the day the Bears announced their shift in focus to Arlington Heights. 'So that's going to be under negotiation in the next couple of weeks.'
Also up in the air are elements of Pritzker's legislative agenda, a menu that includes legislation involving consumer protection, education, local governance and abortion rights, one of the governor's signature issues.
One measure passed by the Senate and awaiting approval from the House would provide more protections under Illinois' 2023 shield law, which prevents health care workers from facing disciplinary action by the state if, for instance, they provide abortion care to someone from another state that has more stringent abortion restrictions.
The legislation also would ensure prescribing abortion medications such as mifepristone would remain legal in the state even if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revokes approval, as long as the World Health Organization recommends their use. Democrats have warned that access to these drugs could be jeopardized following declarations toward that end by Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation policy group thought to have influence on the Trump White House.
Passed by the Senate and awaiting a House vote is a Pritzker-backed bill that would require school districts to adopt guidelines to prohibit students from using cellphones during instructional time, while providing secure and accessible storage for the devices, before the 2026-27 school year.
The bill provides exceptions that would allow students to use phones during an emergency, when a teacher authorizes the device for instruction, when a phone can assist students with a disability or when the device is necessary for a student learning English.
Another Pritzker initiative would allow the state to impose regulations on the cryptocurrency industry, which has come under scrutiny for leaving customers vulnerable to fraud.
Digitized cryptocurrency can be used for electronic payments through the internet that are usually not controlled by a government body or authoritative entity, and the Trump administration has been friendly to the industry, stopping investigations into crypto businesses and litigation against at least one company.
Two bills calling for the cryptocurrency regulations are before the General Assembly, and each has passed through one chamber.
The governor is also pushing legislation that would regulate pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, companies that act as intermediaries among drugmakers, insurance corporations and pharmacies.
The legislation, among other things, would prevent PBMs from sending patients to pharmacies where they have a financial interest and it would also include prohibiting PBMs from pocketing certain savings on medications.
A bill that is expected to include language for a Pritzker-led measure that would allow some community colleges to offer four-year degrees advanced through the House Executive Committee Friday. But Democratic Rep. Curtis Tarver of Chicago at that hearing said, 'The Black Caucus has some concerns about the concept and the bill in general.'
Another Pritzker initiative awaiting consideration by lawmakers would grant voters the ability to decide whether to consolidate township governments, including as a potential solution to lower property taxes.
All of those issues could be addressed as lawmakers continue to press to get money for programs and services they want in the coming year, even as Pritzker has indicated the answer will often be 'No.'
'There are still those priorities that individuals want to see addressed in the budget, making sure that we're protecting our most vulnerable, making sure that we're providing for our seniors,' Sims, the chief budget negotiator for the Senate Democrats, said. 'So those kinds of things, those discussions are ongoing. I imagine we'll continue to do that over the next week.'