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Pritzker included the funding move in his State of the State and
budget address last month. Public transportation costs for
things like commuter rail and city busing have been historically
paid for by the state’s General Revenue Fund since they are not
associated with capital improvements, repairs or upgrades.
The American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois
unveiled its 2024 legislative agenda, including urging the
legislature to reject Pritzker’s proposal.
Kevin Artl, president of the ACEC Illinois, said such a move
would delay road and bridge projects and slow the modernization
of the state’s transportation network.
“Transit agencies' operating costs cannot come at the expense of
existing Rebuild Illinois programs designed to maintain a safe,
modern and reliable transportation network of roads, bridges,
airports and rail,” Artl said.
According to the Transportation for Illinois Coalition, the $175
million loss in road funding would multiply to more than a $1
billion impact in lost road and bridge improvements over the
next few years.
Dorval Carter, Chicago Transit Authority president, said his
agency is financially strapped.
“The impact of a $700 million gap in our budget is basically
completely devastating,” Carter said during a recent Chicago
City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Way hearing.
Carter said the transit agency plans to restore reduced train
and bus service to pre-pandemic levels sometime this year. He
said ridership topped 1 million for 27 days last year, but
numbers are still over 50% short of pre-pandemic levels.
Also included in ACEC Illinois’ 2024 legislative agenda is a
call for continued appropriation of funds for training and
retention of engineering talent through education tax credits
that will provide for a tax credit of 10% of the salary paid by
engineering firms to recent graduates of Illinois’ engineering
schools and 5% of the salary paid to recent graduates of
engineering schools outside of Illinois.
“Illinois is home to some of the nation’s very best engineering
schools, it only makes sense that we do all we can to make sure
these graduates from Illinois schools stay right here and work
on these transformative projects,” said Lou Gallucci,
chair-elect of ACEC Illinois.
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