Northern Illinois Transit Authority’s first regional budget proposal expands service, creates jobs, and improves safety across six counties

Public comment on the proposal is open through Dec. 4 at nita.Illinois.gov

CHICAGO - Nov. 2, 2026 - The Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) has released the Proposed 2027 Regional Transit Operating Budget and Five-Year Capital Program for public comment before consideration for approval by the NITA Board in December. The budget is the new agency's first since beginning operations on Sept. 1 to oversee CTA, Metra and Pace.

The proposed 2027 budget is a significant investment toward the reforms promised in the NITA Act and ensures the four transit agencies continue to deliver for riders. It sustains and expands service, invests in rider and worker safety, and funds the people and systems needed to turn new regional responsibilities into tangible system-wide improvements. The budget will create 439 new jobs among the more than 17,000 employees who operate, maintain and improve the transit network.

The budget details $5.04 billion in annual operating expenses for northeastern Illinois' transit system - including $1.3 billion in expected new funding from the NITA Act.

It also details a 2027-2031 Five-Year Capital Program of $9.73 billion for investment in vehicles, stations, tracks, bridges, signals, facilities and technology - including $990 million in new funding from the NITA Act, as well as federal and state sources.

In the coming year, more frequent service, better-coordinated schedules and transfers, expanded fare programs, and clearer customer information will move CTA, Metra and Pace toward a more integrated regional network.

"NITA is ready to lead a more connected, more reliable, safer regional transit system, and this budget puts that commitment into action," said NITA interim Executive Director Jamie Rhee. "We are bringing agencies together, setting regional priorities and holding ourselves and our operating agencies accountable for results that riders, frontline workers and the taxpayers can see and experience."

What we heard from riders

NITA's budget survey, "What Moves You?" available in English and Spanish, received 4,368 responses, helping prioritize issues facing NITA in 2027 and beyond. Riders said the most important change for NITA to achieve is more frequent and reliable service, and in terms of public safety, more health and human service support on the system was ranked most important. Respondents said improved reliability and reduced service disruptions are the key service improvements they want to see, and that more frequent cleaning of vehicles and stations are most important to improving the rider experience. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents said improving connections between transit services was extremely or very important, and the top way to improve connections would be better schedule coordination. On capital, keeping what we have working and reducing slow zones or disruptions were ranked most important to respondents.

What the 2027 budget delivers for riders

Riders will see a 2027 budget that is responsive to those priorities.

The northern Illinois transit system has experienced 65 consecutive months of year-over-year ridership growth, from April 2021 through August 2026, and a June 2026 panel survey showed 80 percent satisfaction, up from 74 percent a year earlier. As this positive growth continues, the draft operating budget commits to maintaining and expanding service across CTA, Metra and Pace. It also funds the NITA Ride Safe coordinated safety reporting app (launching later this month), the Transit Ambassador program (launching summer 2027) and more funding for health and human services support, among other public safety initiatives. It makes the Access Program expansion permanent, harmonizes other fare policies and improves wayfinding and signage to create more seamless, accessible trips. The budget achieves $60.1 million in efficiencies, $13.3 million more than required by the NITA Act.

For riders, the long-term change is significant: regional funding decisions will increasingly be tied to transparent measures of how much service is provided, how riders use the system and what level of service communities should receive.

The proposed 2027 NITA Regional Budget funds:

• Safer trips
  • Includes funding for additional regional safety initiatives including Transit Ambassadors and the NITA Ride Safe app
  • Coordinated law-enforcement and social-service response
  • NITA to establish Office of Transit Safety and Experience
  • New fare gates pilot to mitigate fare evasion
• More frequent, reliable service
  • Expanded CTA Frequent Bus Network
  • Six CTA bus routes added to Owl 24/7 Service
  • New Sunday service on select Pace routes across suburbs
  • Expanded service on Rock Island Line
  • Improved rail slow zones across the system
• Affordable, connected travel across CTA, Metra and Pace
  • No fare increase in 2027, free transfers between CTA and Pace
  • Expanded Access Program and streamlined student fares made permanent, new Reduced Fare passes
  • Progress on system-wide fare integration and more fare programs in years ahead
• Accessible trips, clearer information
  • Accessible stations and replacement of paratransit vehicles
  • Real-time arrival and elevator status signs and clearer wayfinding
• Better places to ride and work
  • Increased cleaning and maintenance
  • Bus shelters, benches and station improvements
  • Operator restrooms, crew facilities and garage upgrades
• Sustainable transportation
  • Over 200 electric buses or hybrid-electric buses for CTA and Pace
  • First in the nation battery-electric trainsets on Metra
  • Garage electrification to support zero-emission fleet
• Transit-Oriented Development
  • Joint Development Program
  • Transit Supportive Development Incentive Program

NITA's Five-Year 2027-2031 Regional Capital Program aims to deliver projects that reduce the region's state of good repair backlog, improve accessibility, support the transition to zero emissions and advance expansions and upgrades as funding allows.

Federal and state funding has supported progress toward capital goals, but the 2027-2031 program includes a new source of capital funding established by the NITA Act: a share of the interest earned on the state's Road Fund and State Construction Account. This source is estimated to provide $180 million annually and accounts for $990 million of the five-year program.

Early capital enhancements include 150 new hybrid-electric buses for CTA, a new Metra station in Auburn Park along the Rock Island Line, and an electric bus garage in Waukegan to support zero-emission buses at Pace's Lake County division. The five-year capital program builds on these projects by better connecting the regional system, improving accessibility, returning assets to a state of good repair and continuing the transition to zero-emissions technologies.

The program also funds regional enhancements including pilot phases of a NITA regional signage program, a regional Access to Transit program in collaboration with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) that provides for enhanced access to bus stops in collar counties, and a regional bus shelter program that enhances customer waiting areas across the six-county region.

Capital projects to be delivered in 2027

• CTA
  • Blue Line Forest Park branch track: Rehabilitation from Kedzie to Pulaski
  • 43rd St. Green Line station: Rehabbed platforms, canopies and signage
  • Western Brown Line station: New elevators, platform improvements and better connectivity between buses at street level
  • Racine Blue Line station and Morgan substation: Fully rehabilitated ADA accessible Racine station and a new substation that will increase service
  • New rail cars: Nearly 100 new 7000 series rail cars are expected to be in service in 2027
  • Division/Austin Bus Terminal: Enhancements for riders and operators
• Metra
  • Auburn Park station - Rock Island Line: Construction of a new, fully ADA accessible station at 79th Street and Lowe Avenue
  • 115th St. station - Rock Island Line: Rehabilitated station in the Morgan Park neighborhood offering warming shelters for inbound and outbound passengers
  • South Water Street entrance - Millennium Station: Rehabilitated entrance offering increased ADA accessibility, new vendor spaces and customer upgrades
• Pace
  • North Division Garage: A fully rebuilt bus garage capable of supporting electric buses
  • New electric buses: A fleet for the North Division Garage

Largest capital investments in the Five-Year Program

Funded amounts in the following list of projects show dollars programmed in the five-year capital program, not necessarily the full project cost.

• CTA Red Line Extension delivering four new accessible stations, a new rail yard and 5.5 miles of new track ($3.29 billion)
• CTA's continued purchase of 7000 series rail cards and funding for next-gen 9000 series rail cars ($436 million)
• CTA's purchase of new buses, including articulated, electric and hybrid buses ($404 million)
• Metra's purchase of new rail cars and trainsets, including the purchase of new bi-level cars and zero-emission trainsets and trailer cars ($483 million)
• Metra rail car rehabilitation ($274 million)
• Metra Van Buren Street station full rehab with accessibility improvements ($156 million)
• Pace's purchase of new buses, including the purchase of electric, hybrid and CNG powered buses ($218 million)
• Pace garage improvements and electrification, including the construction of new garages in Wheeling and Elgin as well as upgrades to garages systemwide ($89 million)
• Pace implementation of bus rapid transit along Cermak and 22nd Street in Cook and DuPage counties for Pace Pulse Cermak/22nd St. line ($42 million)

"This budget reflects our focus on our riders' priorities: frequent and reliable service, strong infrastructure and a system where people feel safe," said CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen. "It invests in the quality of employee-facing facilities, protects the gains of the past year, supports the delivery of the service riders expect, and identifies efficiencies to make every new dollar count."

"We have entered a new chapter of public transportation in northeastern Illinois," said Metra Executive Director Jim Derwinski. "The legislation establishing NITA provides not only a pathway for additional investment, but also a framework for greater coordination, accountability and service improvements across the region. Metra's investment reflects our commitment to delivering safe, reliable and accessible transportation while managing public resources responsibly."

"Pace is looking ahead to 2027 with optimism, momentum and a clear commitment to the riders and communities we serve," said Pace Executive Director Melinda Metzger. "Our proposed plan reflects an agency focused on strengthening everyday mobility, supporting a seamless transition to the NITA framework and continuing to deliver safe, accessible and cost-effective public transportation across northeastern Illinois."

The draft budget is open for public comment now through Dec. 4. The document can be viewed and public comment can be submitted on NITA's website or by emailing [email protected] . NITA will also hold a public hearing with in-person and virtual attendance coinciding with its November Board Meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m., with public comment expected to begin at approximately 4 p.m. The meeting will remain open to accommodate public comment until 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend the meeting in person at NITA's office at 175 W. Jackson Blvd., 16th Floor, Chicago, or to participate via Zoom by registering here . NITA's Board of Directors will vote on the budget at its meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10.

NITA's Finance/Audit Committee will hold a meeting at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the 16th Floor Board Room at 175 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago.