Steep service cuts could be coming to Chicago public transit—here's why
State legislators wrapped their spring session this weekend without passing a critical funding and reform package meant to plug a $770 million hole in the Regional Transportation Authority's 2026 budget, as reported by WTTW. Now, with federal COVID relief money set to expire, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace are staring down a fiscal cliff—and the consequences could be dire.
If nothing changes, officials warn the region could see 40-percent system-wide service cuts beginning in 2026, along with nearly 3,000 layoffs. The CTA alone may be forced to shut down half of its L lines and eliminate 60-percent of its bus routes, a move that would cut off service for 500,000 Chicagoans and strand 260,000 workers. RTA leaders have called it a 'regional emergency.'
The funding fix that almost was was a bill championed by state Senator Ram Villivalam that paired governance reform with a bundle of controversial taxes, including a $1.50 delivery fee on food and packages and a rideshare surcharge. It passed the Senate late Saturday, but never made it to a House vote before the deadline struck midnight.
'It's clear that many in both the House and Senate support transit,' said RTA spokesperson Tina Fassett Smith, per WGN. 'Balancing regional interests is challenging, but we are ready to continue our work to achieve consensus and deliver a solution.'
Under the proposed legislation, the RTA would've been restructured as the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, overseeing a unified fare system and capital planning across the three transit agencies. Governor JB Pritzker expressed support for reforms but emphasized that funding without accountability is a non-starter. 'You can't put money into something that doesn't guarantee [safety and reliability] at the start,' he said, according to The Chicago Tribune.
The fallout could ripple well beyond city limits. Metra may slash early and late trains, Pace could drop weekend service and ADA paratransit would shrink by two-thirds. The region could lose an estimated $2.6 billion in GDP annually and see 90 million fewer transit trips.
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Scotsman
17 hours ago
- Scotsman
Edinburgh LGBT+ friendly shop, cafe and art space Kafe Kweer announces its closure
The owners of Edinburgh LGBT+ friendly shop, cafe and art space Kafe Kweer have announces its closure. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Viewforth venue opened in 2020 just as the earth-shattering Covid pandemic hit the world, forcing businesses to close their door and people to stay at home. Owners of the Gilmore Place cafe at St Peter's Buildings, Oskar and Zak, made the announcement on social media, with Kafe Kweer set to close on September 1 when the current lease ends. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad They said: 'Our lease ends on 1st September, and with this we have made the tough decision to shut our doors after five incredible years on that date. We do this entirely on our own terms, recognising a coinciding shift in our personal lives, creative goals, rising costs, and beyond. 'Kafe Kweer started as a manic project at the height of lockdown, after we saw a Facebook post advertising a small shop looking for new management. Everything was so uncertain at this time that we decided to just GO for it, with zero expectations and lots of risk. 'We thought we'd be lucky to last a year. And here we are exactly five years later, despite Covid, Brexit, cost of living crises, and being located in a quiet part of town.' Kafe Kweer in Edinburgh's Viewforth area will close for good on September 1. | Google Maps Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The pair vowed to carry on providing a safe space for LGBT+ people to enjoy themselves. They said: 'Despite closing our physical space, we aim to keep using our platform and network to host some of our social events in other spaces, helping queer people find connection amidst this hostile world, and spreading the news about other local queer events/resources. 'The ethos and mission of what Kafe Kweer is about is more than one single shop could ever do, and we plan on continuing to be a hub for Edinburgh's queer community in one way or the other! 'We close our doors in September with our heads held high and our hearts very full with the love you've given us over the years. We know this'll be sad news for many, and it's a sad decision for us, but we believe in doing what we've always done: adapting and evolving.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Adding: 'We'd ask that you all come see us this August for our last month open. We'll be selling a lot of our stock at bargain prices , hosting Fringe shows every afternoon, and probably crying a lot. This is only the beginning. Queer joy forever.' Customers were quick to send their love and thanks to the cafe owners on social media in response to the closure announcement. Polly Edwards said: 'You have done spectacularly, incredibly well and been such a massive life-changing force for good for so many folks here, me included. Five years!! That's amazing! Hold those heads even higher cause you're a bunch of heroes in my book.' Cooper King added: 'We love you so much!! This space was one of the first in the community I came to after moving to this country, and gave me essential room to meet the queer community and grow as my own person. thank you for hosting us for poetry evenings, Lavender Menace meetings, and social gatherings. So sad to hear about your closing but I'm thankful to have had the time with Kafe Kweer!' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And, Fin Buchan said: 'So sad to see you guys closing. I've visited quite a lot of times over the years and remember coming in with my partner at the time just after you opened back in 2020. 'I would only have been 17 then, and seeing a space like this changed everything for me. It made me realise community was still out there. Thank you for all you've done for everyone who's come through your doors.'
Metro
18 hours ago
- Metro
I earn £232,000 as a freelance writer — my salary feels surreal
Welcome back to Me and My Money, Metro's series taking a look at the UK's spending and saving habits. This week we meet Lizzie Davey, 34, a freelance tech and e-commerce writer from Brighton who has built a successful career that gives her an annual salary of more than £200,000. Lizzie saves a lot of her income and hopes to retire by her early 50s. Here, she tells us how she manages her income and savings. I've been freelancing for 12 years, starting aged 23 as a travel writer because I wanted to see more of the world without being tied down. I'd maxed out my annual leave at my job and wanted the freedom to travel as much as I wanted. I'm not sure I'd recommend that to everyone but it worked for me at the time. As time went on I slowly evolved into marketing content because I'd originally worked in marketing before going freelance and that's where my skillset was. When the Covid pandemic hit, e-commerce (online shopping) took off and I landed one e-commerce client. The e-commerce clients I work with are not actual retail brands – they're the companies that create software for those retail brands to use. Now the majority of my clients are in the e-commerce software space, which is obviously still thriving. I write customer-facing content, such as blog posts, case studies, ebooks and also internal communications for companies such as technical documents. I usually work with between seven and 10 clients a month on an ongoing basis. Mostly this involves writing a set amount of pieces or content for a client each month. It's really helpful for predicting my income for the year and giving me consistent work. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Annual income: £232,000 (2024) Income taken from the business after pension, expenses including co-working rent, tax and investments: £73,000 Main monthly outgoings: Amazon Prime: £6.60 (£79 a year) Mortgage: £783.58 Home insurance: £20.72 Council tax: £168 Phone and internet: £92 Energy: £50-£100 Income protection: £26.24 Petrol: £50 Netflix: £17.99 Car insurance: £200 a year It has taken me a while to get to this point. When I started I'd work 14-hour days and charge £25 per piece. Now my minimum rate per article is £850, and I won't do anything under £500 unless it's for a long-standing client looking for a small extra job. Earning this much does feel a bit surreal as it's an income I never ever imagined would be possible doing what I do. There's a trope that writers are poor and self-employed people don't earn much, so I was happy just to have the freedom to work my own hours. The money was a bonus as I've never been particularly money driven. I definitely don't live a luxury lifestyle, although I do eat out a lot more than most and travel more than my peers. I still have a budget though and set aside £500 a month for eating out, lunches, and doing fun things. I drive a 14-year-old Nissan Micra that has definitely seen better days, so I think that says it all! I think the thing to remember here is that while the business earns ~£240,000 a year, I don't pay myself that much. I pay myself about £75,000 a year, so I don't technically have a quarter of a million to spend on myself! The leftover money in the business goes into investments and will be saved for a time when I might want to take a year or so off. I'm definitely a saver when it comes to my personal money. I'm not a big spender AT ALL. I used to have a one-bedroom flat in central Brighton that I bought in 2021 but I wanted more space, so I updgraded to a 3-bedroom house less than three years later. I bought a three bedroom 1930s renovation project in March last year in the suburbs of Brighton. It's been slow progress because I drained the majority of my savings to buy the house but I'm about halfway through. I've had the kitchen and bathroom done and the garden is next on the list. The majority of my personal money is going on the house renovations at the moment, so I don't have a ton of savings, but I do go on holiday 4-6 times a year. These aren't extravagant holidays by any means (I stayed in a hostel on the last one!), and I tend to travel cheap and stay cheap. My main aim when travelling is eating and exploring, so I'm not really a luxury traveller. But my salary also means I have the freedom to say yes to things I want to do and I have quite a lot of hobbies I do throughout the week that I probably wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. I still give myself a budget each month though, and try to stick with that. My plan is to retire early – before the age of 55 – and I've got a financial adviser to help me with that and to keep my savings and investments on track. I pay £1,000 a month into a pension and invest in the stock market through my company in other accounts that I can access before the pension. I work from a co-working space in central Brighton, which I pay £255 a month for, through my company. I really like the social aspect of working alongside other people, and with people who are often self-employed and get it. It was really useful speaking to other freelancers who told me my initial rates were too low and who showed me how I should be structuring contracts and sending proposals. I start work early. I walk to my co-working space, which takes about 40 minutes, and am there for 8am. Between 8am and 11am is solid writing time. I put my phone on aeroplane mode, put my headphones on and listen to any music without lyrics while I concentrate on writing. Between 11am and 2pm, I'll take calls and have lunch. Sometimes I'll meet another freelancer for lunch or go to an event. Between 2pm and 4pm I'll do emails, edits, admin or write an outline for the next day's article. I'm usually done by 4pm except on Mondays where it's more like 5pm or 6pm. I normally take Fridays off, except if I do work for my own website or social media. It's really important to put yourself out there on social media and to build your own personal brand. More Trending I send a free weekly email every Friday aimed at freelancers, where I discuss my work and rates. I'll do a gym class in the afternoon, meet up with friends or go to the beach if it's nice. My advice for people starting now is to have a specific skill that you're good at, that people want and need. For me, that's marketing writing. But there are many writers out there who are trying to make it. And obviously AI has also become a new competitor, but clients still want the human side of content. Clients come to me because of my industry expertise. I've worked so prolifically in the e-commerce space that I understand all the problems their customers have. These companies want to drive sales and drive conversions, which I help with, but also I save them time from having to write their own content. I'm reliable, clients can count on me and they know they're going to get something good delivered on time. They are free to focus on other areas of the business to generate more revenue. View More » At some point I'll probably pivot into more strategy and consultancy and less writing but for now I'm happy. 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Scottish Sun
20 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Elite team of cops to monitor anti-migrant social media posts to clamp down on unrest as critics blast ‘disturbing' move
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN elite team of cops will be tasked with monitoring social media for anti-migrant posts. Detectives are being handpicked from forces across the UK to take part in the new programme amid fears of rioting as the small boats crisis escalates. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 The new unit will monitor social media posts about immigration Credit: UKNIP 3 The step has been slammed as an attack on freedom of speech Credit: Getty 3 Lucy Connolly was sentenced to 31 months in prison for her misinformed posts about Southport Credit: PA The division, overseen by the Home Office, will look to "maximise social media intelligence" gathering after forces were slammed for their response to last year's unrest. Protests outside asylum hotels is continuing to heat up, with crowds gathering yesterday in the likes of Norwich, Leeds and Bournemouth - and more demonstrations planned today. Deputy PM Angela Rayner warned the Cabinet last week that the Government must step in to address "real concerns" about immigration. However, critics have labelled the social media policing plans as "disturbing" and questioned if it further restricts freedom of speech. The National Internet Intelligence Investigations team, will work out of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster. The NPoCC provides the central planning for forces across the UK in terms of "nationally significant protests" and civil disorder. And enforced lockdown rules during the Covid pandemic. Lucy Connolly fury It comes after Tory councillor Raymond Connolly's wife Lucy was jailed for 31 months after posting comments on her X account just hours after evil Axel Rudakubana murdered three girls in the Merseyside town on July 29 last year. Ms Connolly, 41, shared a call to arms following the deaths of Bebe King, six, nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, last July. Posts wrongly claimed monster Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker when he was actually born in Cardiff and raised Christian. Ms Connelly's punishment sparked fury across the political divide. 16 arrested after protests outside Epping migrant hotel as ring of steel ramps up around TWO asylum seeker centres Furious Brits noted that despite the former child minder quickly deleting her post, she remains in prison while paedos such as Hugh Edwards escaped jail time. Referring to the social media cops, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told the Daily Telegraph: 'Two-tier Keir can't police the streets, so he's trying to police opinions instead. "They're setting up a central team to monitor what you post, what you share, what you think, because deep down they know the public don't buy what they're selling." He added Labour are no longer "pretending" to fix Britain and are now "trying to mute it" - turning the country into a "surveillance state". Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: 'This is the beginning of the state controlling free speech. It is sinister, dangerous and must be fought. Reform UK will do just that.'
