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Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Around the Southland: Smith Village goes to the dogs, Metra station projects begin, more
Special education students at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and Smith Village in Chicago recently teamed up for an event made for dogs. Four independent living residents brought their dogs for a tasting event at Smith Village to showcase that its store is the first to sell dog treats made by the ag students. The treats, available in different shapes, include eggs and honey collected at the school's farm. Residents Theresa Boone and Barb Graber, Smith Village sous chef IsaGani Alma and 19th Ward Alderman Matt O'Shea judged the contest, with the dogs earning blue ribbons. Residents Beth O'Grady and Dave Degnan gave each student a Special Olympics-style medal and their teacher, Anne Brown, a trophy for the class. O'Grady and Degnan began selling the dog treats at the store after visiting a class. Metra has broken ground on two commuter train station projects in the area: 95th Street/Chicago State University Station on the Metra Electric Line and the 115th Street/Morgan Park Station on the Rock Island line. The $8.69 million project to improve the 115th Street/Morgan Park Station will create a new plaza and widewalks, replace existing platform shelters and work to resolve stormwater issues, as well as resurfacing two parking areas and adding lighting. 'An overall $10 million investment in this project from Gov. Pritzker's Rebuild Illinois capital program will improve transit access and quality of life in one of Chicago's great neighborhoods as well as strengthen transportation across the region,' Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi shared in a news release. The 95th Street/Chicago State University Station project includes building a new street-level entrance on 95th Street with a new storefront, elevator and enclosed entrance area, replacing the existing platform and stairs and headhouse, building a new CSU campus headhouse, and creating a walkway and bike lane that connects a new community parking lot and tunnel entrance. Work is expected to be completed in late 2027. 'No matter their zip code, all Chicagoans deserve reliable and accessible public transit to get to school, get to work and more easily move throughout Chicagoland,' Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who co-sponsored the federal All Stations Accessibility Program that is helping to fund the rehabilitation, noted in a news release. The annual street fair in Hickory Hills marks its 45th year this summer. The event takes place 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 29 on Roberts Road between 95th and 91st streets. The family-friendly event includes a car show, food trucks, crafters, bingo from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., karaoke from 1 to 3:30 p.m. and inflatable rides. The Hickory Hills Park District sponsored the bounce house and outdoor games and activities. A live concert in the beer garden the night before kicks off the event, with music from the Ranger Band from 7 to 10 p.m. June 28. On the day of the festival, Rock 'n Roll Ray performs from 4 to 7 p.m. June 29 in the beer garden. Information is at City Hall at 708-598-4800. Legacy Ranch recently received a $9.750 check from members of 100+ Women Who Care of Will County, a philanthropic group founded by local women interested in supporting their communities by donating to charities as a group to boost the impact of a donation. The nonprofit organization provides equine-assisted services to people facing developmental, emotional or physical challenges, aiming to offer an inclusive environment for individuals to build confidence, improve their well-being and overcome challenges with the help of the healing power of horses. 'The donation will allow us to further our mission of supporting anyone who reaches out to us and to expand our programs to serve even more individuals in our community,' Executive Director Kate Rasmussen shared in a news release. The women meet quarterly and pitch charities to support, with members writing a $100 check on the spot to the winning organization. The group's next meeting is 6 to 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at Coom's Corner in Lockport. Information is at Students at area Catholic schools recently banded together to help children and families served by Franciscan Health Olympia Fields. Infant Jesus of Prague School in Flossmoor students raised money via a penny drive, bringing in jars of pennies and sabotaging other groups by adding silver change to their jars. The $350 raised helped buy supplies such as toys to outfit a pediatric sensory room at the new Franciscan Health Outpatient Therapy Homewood. Interim Principal Charlotte Kelly is a member of the Franciscan Health Foundation Board of Directors and the Circle of 1875, an organization of women who support Franciscan's programs and missions in the community. The circle chose to support the therapy site as its first project in 2004 but funds fell short. Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights also contributed to that site, with student council members selling cookies and raising $1,000 to buy toys. Students at St. Agnes School in Chicago Heights raised $1,400 with help from their families and friends for babies and new mothers in need served by the hospital. The Franciscan Health Foundation accepts contributions online at or by calling 708-852-2430. Tickets are on sale now for the annual Southside Summer Festival presented by Marist High School from 4 to 10 p.m. July 19 at the stadium, 4030 W. 115th St., Chicago. Poi Dog Pondering will headline the event, and Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root will be the opening act. Red Pop Fury also will perform. Attendees may bring blankets to sit on the floor. No outside food or beverages allowed. Tickets for the event, open to those 21 and older, cost $35 before July 18 or $40 at the door. Limited VIP tickets cost $150 and include beverages and light food. Buy tickets at or via the 'GoFan' app. The festival will be a cashless event; credit cards, debit cards and Venmo will be accepted. All money raised supports scholarships and financial aid for current and future Marist students.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Column: There's no express route to transit cash
With summer now in full bloom, the gloom-and-doom train is pulling into the station. Will state lawmakers get on board or watch it go over the fiscal chasm? Actually, the regional mass transit system faces a fiscal abyss — an estimated $771 million shortfall for next year. That amount is only a stopgap measure; transit supporters would like to see a $1.5 billion annual investment from the state in the future. Illinois lawmakers failed to tackle the funding crisis for the CTA, Metra and Pace during the past legislative session, which ended in May. Since then, transit officials and the 3,000 workers, many of them union members who run the trains and buses that make up the umbrella Regional Transportation Authority, are predicting doomsday scenarios next year without an injection of cash. Those scary tactics include 40% cuts in service, employee layoffs, fare hikes, bus routes eliminated, and train schedules reduced. A public relations push by the RTA during the legislative session garnered about 12,000 letters to lawmakers urging full funding. Legislators can schedule a summer session or wait until the fall veto session to deal with the fiscal abyss. Regardless, any legislation will need a three-fifths majority vote, rather than a simple majority. With that differential, suburban lawmakers may hold the key to funding and governance proposals in Springfield. Transit officials and their supporters are calling any service cuts 'unprecedented.' That may be to them, but Gov. JB Pritzker, after signing his seventh state budget the other day, doesn't seem concerned. After all, he noted about mass transit funding: 'The answer is not that the state is solely responsible for filling that gap. There are lots of sources. Everybody's focusing only on the state when actually there's a whole lot to put together here.' One of the first ideas to plug the transit hole was slapping an additional 50-cent surcharge on users of the Illinois tollway system, which is mainly used by suburbanites in the collar counties. Other proposals included increasing fees on ride-shares and food deliveries. These transit 'user fees' would be on top of the millions in new Illinois taxes — on sportsbooks, Airbnb rentals and tobacco products– which are scheduled to take effect July 1. Lawmakers also skipped another plan to reorganize the RTA into a proposed Northern Illinois Transit Authority. Yet, we have heard little about raising CTA or Metra rider fares. Surprisingly, the CTA has not raised its fares since 2018. That alone should give suburbanites pause on any transit overhaul plans. While the RTA says it needs $771 million, legislators certainly haven't challenged that figure or actually done an audit on the transit agency's real needs. Suburbanites need to keep a watchful eye, especially when it comes to representation on transit boards, on what goes down in the tunnels of Springfield. One who has is William Coulson of Glenview, who has served on the RTA Board since 2007 by appointment of the Cook County Board. He is currently the senior RTA board member. He is also the only board member to vote 'no' on a Service Board (CTA, Metra, Pace) budget for the last decade. 'The RTA was established as a great compromise, and we as a board have always had insufficient powers over the three Service Boards,' Coulson said in an e-mail. His father was Waukegan Mayor Robert Coulson, who served from 1949 to 1957. He then moved into the legislature and, as a state senator in the mid-1960s, introduced the first RTA bill. That was in response to the old North Shore electric railroad's closure. The North Shore's old railbed has since been turned into bike and walking paths from Mundelein east to Lake Bluff, and from Great Lakes north to Winthrop Harbor. It took another decade, 1974, before the RTA was adopted by state lawmakers as the mass transit agency for the six-counties of Lake, Cook, DuPage, McHenry, Kane and Will counties. 'There are a lot of smart people in the legislature and I am hopeful that both transit funding and needed governance changes will be addressed in a special session this summer,' Coulson said. 'Otherwise, RTA 2026 budget planning must, by statute, begin in August, when the budget limits for CTA, Metra, and Pace will be set by the RTA based solely on existing revenue sources for 2026. 'At some point, probably by January 2026, the service boards will have to start cutting service and laying off many talented train and bus operators,' he added, 'so let's hope that something can happen this summer. 'Whatever resources may be provided, my job as an RTA Board member is to provide the best public transit system that the people of Illinois are willing to pay for,' Coulson said. That's the pivotal question: Just how much are suburbanites and their state representatives willing to chip in for mass transit service? We'll find out between now and November.
CBS News
2 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Metra UP-N trains suspended due to emergency track repairs
Metra Union Pacific North line train service has been temporarily suspended on Monday morning. Metra confirmed the suspension was caused by emergency track repairs. Metra UP-N train No. 302 scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 6:25 a.m., was stopped near Winnetka, Illinois, and is back in service. Outbound service to Kenosha will be temporarily suspended until approximately 10 a.m. Due to emergency track repairs near Evanston Main Street, Metra will not operate the following inbound trains: 308, 392, 316, 320, 322, 324, 326, 330, and 334. Passengers may board trains No. 310, 312, 314, 318, and 338. Metra said that trains are running 35 to 45 minutes behind schedule. This is a developing story. CBS News Chicago will continue to provide updates.
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Regional day passes available now for CTA, Metra and Pace
CTA, Metra and Pace riders can now purchase day passes that cover unlimited rides on all three transit systems, the agencies announced Friday. The regional day pass costs between $10 and $16 on weekdays depending on the length of the Metra trip. Weekend day passes cost $9.50. The passes are priced to cost $2.50 more than a Metra day pass while giving riders full access to rides on CTA and Pace. That means that riders who, for instance, take a CTA train to and from a Metra station could save $2.50 by using the pass, because the cost of a CTA day pass is $5.00. Passes are available for purchase in the latest version of the Ventra app. The program is a pilot that is set to last at least six months. The day pass announcement comes after state lawmakers last month failed to pass transit reform legislation — or find funding to avert a looming $771 million fiscal cliff — during their spring legislative session. Legislation introduced in Springfield last month would have overhauled the structure and governance of the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees CTA, Metra and Pace, by replacing it with a new oversight body called the Northern Illinois Transit Authority. The legislation, had it passed, would have given NITA broad authority to set fares and schedules and specifically called for the creation of an integrated fare system by 2030. Leanne Redden, RTA's executive director, referenced the failed governance and funding negotiations in Springfield in a statement about the day pass pilot. 'This pass is another step in our shared effort to make transit more seamless and rider-friendly across the region,' Redden said. 'To build a truly connected transit system, we need both reform and support, including increased operating funding and action on proposed legislative changes that would centralize and make fare integration easier to implement and sustain,' Redden added. The agencies could continue the pilot program permanently next year — 'depending on funding availability,' they said. The qualifier hints at the fact that the CTA, Metra and Pace are planning for the possibility of making drastic 40% service cuts next year if lawmakers don't allocate more funding in the coming months.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
New pass allows unlimited access to Metra, CTA, Pace
A new pass is now available for CTA, Pace, and Metra riders. The "Regional Day Pass" is unlimited and offers single and multiple-day options on the Ventra app. This pass costs $2.50 more than the usual Metra day pass. Weekday prices include: $10 in Metra's single zone travel area ($6 for reduced fare card holders) $13.50 in Metra's two-zone travel area ($8 for reduced fare card holders) $16 in Metra's three-zone travel area ($9 for reduced fare card holders) All weekend, "Regional Day Passes" will cost $9.50.
