The Illinois State Toll Authority and Pace are joining forces to implement new bus service on the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90). Initially, Pace will expand service on two existing bus routes, but long-term plans include the creation of four new Park & Ride locations, as well as four new bus routes. These improvements are part of a larger project to reconstruct the Jane Addams Tollway and... Read More

Current federal and state sources of transportation revenue have proven inadequate to meet our nation’s investment needs.  In response, local and regional governments have increasingly turned to their own dedicated sources of revenue to maintain and expand their transportation systems.  On November 6, 2012, voters in 11 states weighed in on various local transportation funding... Read More

The current fiscal condition of the State of Illinois requires immediate action, according to a report released this October from the State Budget Crisis Task Force . In June 2011, former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch and former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker formed this task force to study the fiscal sustainability of six states: California, New Jersey, New... Read More

Two recent reports from Washington D.C.-based think tanks describe important policy challenges pertaining to federal transportation funding.  In “ The Consequences of Reduced Federal Transportation Investment ,” the Eno Center for Transportation and the Bipartisan Policy Center estimate the impacts of decreasing the federal transportation program by 35 percent, as would be required to... Read More

In an April 2012 report , the Cook County Unincorporated Task Force recommended that municipalities be encouraged to annex small, unincorporated parcels of land.  However, many of these areas require infrastructure updates that some municipalities are reluctant to take on.  To encourage municipalities to annex these unincorporated parcels, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle... Read More