Thomas Bamonte
@thomasbamonte.bsky.social
Chicago. Transportation law, policy, and technology mostly. Senior Advisor, Metropolitan Planning Council. Views my own. One ticket, one timetable, one network....
Pinned
Here's a quick and dirty one-page overview of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority legislation that the Illinois General Assembly passed early this morning. Reply w/questions. Link to bill: ilga.gov/documents/le...
Reposted by Thomas Bamonte
This idea is so gosh darn out there... it just might work! "Crosstowners: Regional rail for Chicagoland"
yard-social.com/crosstowners/ @starlinechicago.bsky.social
yard-social.com/crosstowners/ @starlinechicago.bsky.social
CrossTowners
CrossTowners, or “regional rail”, are a vision to unlock Chicagoland by using our existing passenger rail infrastructure more efficiently for all-day service.
yard-social.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:24 PM
This idea is so gosh darn out there... it just might work! "Crosstowners: Regional rail for Chicagoland"
yard-social.com/crosstowners/ @starlinechicago.bsky.social
yard-social.com/crosstowners/ @starlinechicago.bsky.social
New York City voters approved a raft of housing measures that streamline permitting and eliminate the “unofficial veto” that individual city council members had over housing projects in their districts. Cf. #AldermanicPrerogative www.planetizen.com/news/2025/11...
NYC Voters Reject ‘Unofficial’ City Council Vetos of Housing Projects
Voters approves multiple housing measures that streamline development permitting and shift approval to the City Planning Commission.
www.planetizen.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:35 PM
New York City voters approved a raft of housing measures that streamline permitting and eliminate the “unofficial veto” that individual city council members had over housing projects in their districts. Cf. #AldermanicPrerogative www.planetizen.com/news/2025/11...
It's time for all good citizens to pick up a snow shovel and clear space around their nearest bus stops because both municipalities and private landowners don't #PlowTheSidewalks. Indeed, they sometimes dump snow in bus stop areas. Query: Is municipal failure to clear bus stops an #ADA issue?
November 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
It's time for all good citizens to pick up a snow shovel and clear space around their nearest bus stops because both municipalities and private landowners don't #PlowTheSidewalks. Indeed, they sometimes dump snow in bus stop areas. Query: Is municipal failure to clear bus stops an #ADA issue?
This could have been Illinois had the ILGA not passed the transit reform/funding bill. PA unlike IL has a Republican bloc with sufficient power to block add'l transit operating funding, forcing SEPTA and other PA agencies to use capital funds for operations. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/11/10/t...
Transit Funding in Pennsylvania Can’t Wait — Streetsblog USA
State and Federal leaders must act to keep our transit safe and in service.
usa.streetsblog.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:57 PM
This could have been Illinois had the ILGA not passed the transit reform/funding bill. PA unlike IL has a Republican bloc with sufficient power to block add'l transit operating funding, forcing SEPTA and other PA agencies to use capital funds for operations. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/11/10/t...
Op-ed by Howard Learner @elpcenter.bsky.social on how the new Illinois transit legislation should be implemented in the Chicago region: One ticket system; safety first; prioritize well; infill stations and regional rail solutions; and Tollway accountability. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/10/o...
Howard A. Learner: Now, let’s focus on making Chicago’s regional transit system work better
Now that Illinois has passed a transit bill, the focus must shift to how to make our transit system work better and more efficiently.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Op-ed by Howard Learner @elpcenter.bsky.social on how the new Illinois transit legislation should be implemented in the Chicago region: One ticket system; safety first; prioritize well; infill stations and regional rail solutions; and Tollway accountability. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/10/o...
Flat $1.25 retail delivery fee being proposed for Chicago w/exemptions that include restaurant deliveries. Proponents might consider a variable fee--higher during peak traffic times; lower off-peak. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
Ald. Villegas proposes $1.25-a-package ground delivery tax on Chicago consumers
The 36th Ward alderperson wants cash-strapped Chicago to follow the trail blazed by Colorado and Minnesota, which have imposed similar delivery taxes.
chicago.suntimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Flat $1.25 retail delivery fee being proposed for Chicago w/exemptions that include restaurant deliveries. Proponents might consider a variable fee--higher during peak traffic times; lower off-peak. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
Mayor Johnson on transit bill: "If we're centering our work around the interest of working people and allow those demands and those hopes to be the center of our delivery of government, we're always in a better, stronger position to make the right investment." chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/07/w...
We asked Mayor Johnson about the transit win, Leerhsen's future, saving the bus station, and whether he'll send a care package to Philly - Streetsblog Chicago
Streetsblog has interviewed just about all the key players in the surprising win for local sustainable transportation, when state lawmakers passed a transit reform/funding bill in the wee hours of Oct...
chi.streetsblog.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Mayor Johnson on transit bill: "If we're centering our work around the interest of working people and allow those demands and those hopes to be the center of our delivery of government, we're always in a better, stronger position to make the right investment." chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/07/w...
Reposted by Thomas Bamonte
The Bus Priority Corridor Study is a major next step toward implementation of the Better Streets for Buses Plan—a framework developed by CTA and CDOT to enhance the bus riding experience. We're exploring ways to improve bus lanes, sidewalks, and signals.
November 7, 2025 at 6:33 PM
The Bus Priority Corridor Study is a major next step toward implementation of the Better Streets for Buses Plan—a framework developed by CTA and CDOT to enhance the bus riding experience. We're exploring ways to improve bus lanes, sidewalks, and signals.
Tariffs to exacerbate the shortage of transit capital funds in the Chicago region: “For every 10 buses purchased, the cost of another bus has been spent on tariffs alone, a consideration that agencies will have to take into account when making purchase orders.” www.masstransitmag.com/management/n...
North American bus manufacturers, transit associations brace for new 10% bus tariff
Without relief mechanisms, transit agencies could lose buying power and have to delay climate-driven purchases.
www.masstransitmag.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Tariffs to exacerbate the shortage of transit capital funds in the Chicago region: “For every 10 buses purchased, the cost of another bus has been spent on tariffs alone, a consideration that agencies will have to take into account when making purchase orders.” www.masstransitmag.com/management/n...
Reposted by Thomas Bamonte
David Greising: Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back on the transit bill. He needs to do that with pensions.
David Greising: Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back on the transit bill. He needs to do that with pensions.
Illinois must keep an eye on the way Gov. JB Pritzker handles pension reform, which is the next long-standing concern on the state’s agenda.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:24 PM
David Greising: Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back on the transit bill. He needs to do that with pensions.
“CTA was the only agency in Springfield that put together a budget to show what we would do if we got additional funding beyond the bare minimum.” 👏 CTA bus, rail, and other improvements on the way. chicago.suntimes.com/fran-spielma...
CTA plans 24-hour service on Orange Line to Midway, thanks to mass transit bailout
Acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen’s ambitious plan would also expand — from 20 to 30 routes — the so-called Frequent Bus Network that provides service “every 10 minutes or better” between 6 a.m. and ...
chicago.suntimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:24 PM
“CTA was the only agency in Springfield that put together a budget to show what we would do if we got additional funding beyond the bare minimum.” 👏 CTA bus, rail, and other improvements on the way. chicago.suntimes.com/fran-spielma...
Short and heartening history of the transformation of the Chicago River from an urban sewer. Next up, use the Chicago River initiative as a model for reclaiming acres of parkland from the lakefront expressway? #DLSD sustainabilitydialogue.uchicago.edu/news/chicago...
Chicago Spotlight: Reclaiming the Chicago River
By Rachel Suominen “Industry was King, and dirty rivers were a sign of prosperity.” – John Hartig For over 100 years, the Chicago River was treated as the city’s waste dump. Throughout the 19th and mu...
sustainabilitydialogue.uchicago.edu
November 6, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Short and heartening history of the transformation of the Chicago River from an urban sewer. Next up, use the Chicago River initiative as a model for reclaiming acres of parkland from the lakefront expressway? #DLSD sustainabilitydialogue.uchicago.edu/news/chicago...
"San Francisco leaders are rallying to create legislation that puts checks on the autonomous Waymo vehicles after one of the cars killed a neighborhood cat nicknamed, KitKat." thehill.com/policy/energ...
thehill.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:26 PM
"San Francisco leaders are rallying to create legislation that puts checks on the autonomous Waymo vehicles after one of the cars killed a neighborhood cat nicknamed, KitKat." thehill.com/policy/energ...
"A stunning 84 percent of transit measures on the ballot in 2025 so far have won, grossing an estimated $11.7 billion in known transit revenue." usa.streetsblog.org/2025/11/06/t...
Transit Wins Big Again In Local Elections Across America — Streetsblog USA
Several candidates who ran on ambitious transportation reform platforms won at the ballot box on Tuesday — but even more communities said yes to supporting transit directly.
usa.streetsblog.org
November 6, 2025 at 10:17 PM
"A stunning 84 percent of transit measures on the ballot in 2025 so far have won, grossing an estimated $11.7 billion in known transit revenue." usa.streetsblog.org/2025/11/06/t...
Directors @rtachicago.bsky.social hail passage of Illinois transit reform/funding bill that will stave off service cuts and fare increases. Note diverging opinions on when new regional agency (NITA) should act to authorize a 0.25% rate increase in the RTA regional transit tax.
November 6, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Directors @rtachicago.bsky.social hail passage of Illinois transit reform/funding bill that will stave off service cuts and fare increases. Note diverging opinions on when new regional agency (NITA) should act to authorize a 0.25% rate increase in the RTA regional transit tax.
"Illinois lawmakers passed the most transformative transit legislation in 50 years — a $1.5 billion package that not only prevents cuts and layoffs but rewrites the moral math of mobility. At its core are ideas born of equity." thehill.com/opinion/civi...
thehill.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:03 PM
"Illinois lawmakers passed the most transformative transit legislation in 50 years — a $1.5 billion package that not only prevents cuts and layoffs but rewrites the moral math of mobility. At its core are ideas born of equity." thehill.com/opinion/civi...
“I’m not a fascist,” Mayor Johnson said when asked to react to losing majority control of the CTA board. “The most important thing is they have a system that’s funded. … I don’t sit around counting the status of how much power is concentrated in one seat.” www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/05/t...
Transit reform measure shifts CTA control from Chicago mayor. Lawmaker says that’s an ‘asset.’
As state lawmakers raced to pass a $1.5 billion plan to overhaul regional mass transportation, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office lost control over the CTA board.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM
“I’m not a fascist,” Mayor Johnson said when asked to react to losing majority control of the CTA board. “The most important thing is they have a system that’s funded. … I don’t sit around counting the status of how much power is concentrated in one seat.” www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/05/t...
"[Will] CTA/Metra/Pace finally come out of their poorly coordinated silos, whether consolidation of expensive bureaucracies and duplicative transit routes actually will occur and ultimately whether the Chicago region finally will start acting like a region." www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/tra...
Greg Hinz: Lawmakers did only half the job of fixing Chicago's creaky public transit system
For the moment, only part of the job of fixing Chicago-area transit has been completed. There’s still work to do.
www.chicagobusiness.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:54 PM
"[Will] CTA/Metra/Pace finally come out of their poorly coordinated silos, whether consolidation of expensive bureaucracies and duplicative transit routes actually will occur and ultimately whether the Chicago region finally will start acting like a region." www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/tra...
State Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) thinks the transit reform package “will be sufficient in resolving issues that have been in place for quite some time that have caused a lot of grief and aggravation for legislators in Springfield, as well as the transit riders.” news.wttw.com/2025/11/05/i...
Illinois Lawmakers Weigh in on $1.5B Funding Package Set to Reshape Chicago-Area Transit
Illinois lawmakers last week signed off on a sweeping $1.5 billion transit funding package that reshapes how the CTA, Metra and Pace are run and funded. The plan also creates what’s called the Norther...
news.wttw.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
State Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) thinks the transit reform package “will be sufficient in resolving issues that have been in place for quite some time that have caused a lot of grief and aggravation for legislators in Springfield, as well as the transit riders.” news.wttw.com/2025/11/05/i...
Illinois transit bill check-in. chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...
What Illinois' new transit spending bill means for riders, drivers
New legislation calls for no public transit fare increases, but tolls and sales tax are set to increase
chicago.suntimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Illinois transit bill check-in. chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...
Tesla/Boring Company tunnel system may be coming to Nashville after abortive efforts in Chicago and LA. www.tennessean.com/story/money/...
Why leaders think The Boring Co. can succeed in Nashville after other tunnel fails
Here's why The Boring Company succeeded in Las Vegas – and why it chose Nashville next.
www.tennessean.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Tesla/Boring Company tunnel system may be coming to Nashville after abortive efforts in Chicago and LA. www.tennessean.com/story/money/...
Reposted by Thomas Bamonte
Here's MPC's recent blog post about the transit funding/reform bill, featuring a fun photo of some key advocates who were present at the birth in Springfield, looking sleep-deprived but excited!
@metroplanning.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social @betterstreetschicago.org @stevevance.net
@metroplanning.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social @betterstreetschicago.org @stevevance.net
Illinois Passes the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act > Metropolitan Planning Council
Illinois received a Halloween treat to remember this year as The Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act (SB2111) passed the Illinois General Assembly in the early hours of October 31, 2025, and Gover...
metroplanning.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Here's MPC's recent blog post about the transit funding/reform bill, featuring a fun photo of some key advocates who were present at the birth in Springfield, looking sleep-deprived but excited!
@metroplanning.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social @betterstreetschicago.org @stevevance.net
@metroplanning.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social @betterstreetschicago.org @stevevance.net
Reposted by Thomas Bamonte
There was a differences of opinion among local news outlets this morning about whether or not CTA, Metra, and Pace fares will be going up next year in the wake of the transit bill passage. Here's the answer, straight from the horse's mouth.
🚌 🚃 🚉 🐎
@rtachicago.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social
🚌 🚃 🚉 🐎
@rtachicago.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM
There was a differences of opinion among local news outlets this morning about whether or not CTA, Metra, and Pace fares will be going up next year in the wake of the transit bill passage. Here's the answer, straight from the horse's mouth.
🚌 🚃 🚉 🐎
@rtachicago.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social
🚌 🚃 🚉 🐎
@rtachicago.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social
Reposted by Thomas Bamonte
Colorado just passed two ballot measures to increase taxes (I’m oversimplifying, but that’s the practical effect) on people earning over $300,000 a year to fund a school meals program. $100,000,000 for kids to eat. Which is really how this should work.
November 5, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Colorado just passed two ballot measures to increase taxes (I’m oversimplifying, but that’s the practical effect) on people earning over $300,000 a year to fund a school meals program. $100,000,000 for kids to eat. Which is really how this should work.
Paul Valles: "Transit bill lacks meaningful consolidation and cost-cutting. It only repackages the RTA into [NITA]. There’s no commitment to meaningful financial accountability. There’s no genuine strategy for reversing ridership decline." www.illinoispolicy.org/vallas-legis...
Vallas: Legislation buys CTA time to fix itself, but will it?
New taxes buy the Chicago Transit Authority some time, but state lawmakers failed fix anything that led to the crisis. Here are three ways city leaders can fix the CTA.
www.illinoispolicy.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Paul Valles: "Transit bill lacks meaningful consolidation and cost-cutting. It only repackages the RTA into [NITA]. There’s no commitment to meaningful financial accountability. There’s no genuine strategy for reversing ridership decline." www.illinoispolicy.org/vallas-legis...