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The measure in Senate Bill 5 would create the Metropolitan
Mobility Authority (MMA), which would oversee Metra, Pace, the
Chicago Transit Authority and the Regional Transportation
Authority. The agencies collectively face a budget cliff of over
$770 million in 2026.
During Tuesday’s Senate Transportation Committee hearing, Annie
McGowen, research director with the nonpartisan Civic
Federation, said the consolidation proposal makes sense.
“This legislation would address the inefficiencies, governance
issues and the lack of accountability and coordination that have
plagued the agencies for decades,” said McGowen.
The leaders of the transit agencies have pushed back against any
consolidation talk and instead have requested $1.5 billion in
additional funding.
"We’re all in favor of doing what’s best for the customer,” said
Pace executive director Melinda Metzger during a previous
hearing. “I do not believe that combining us into one
organization will make us better.”
Transit leaders have said the service areas they cover and the
types of service each system provides vary drastically, making
individual entities better suited to address passenger needs.
Labor unions have also rejected the notion of combining the
agencies and are calling for more coordination between the
groups.
State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, said whatever the outcome
may be, the Chicago suburbs need to be a part of the
conversation.
“Residents of Kane County, DuPage, Will or McHenry County are
going to be paying for Metra fares without having any
representation to debate those issues, and being absolutely
steamrolled in the ability to be able to control that or have
some input,” said DeWitte.
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition has been an outspoken
supporter of the merger.
“The status quo isn’t working for taxpayers who are paying for
duplicate bureaucracies performing overlapping functions instead
of funding one agency that improves transit across Chicagoland,”
the groups said in a statement.
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