Public transportation riders in Chicago got a reprieve from Springfield this week, as legislators gave the Regional Transportation Authority the ability to borrow more money to bridge a $260 million gap in payments from the state.
A bill passed Monday by the Illinois legislature allows the RTA to borrow as much as $400 million in “working cash” to cover its debts — a feat that will mostly be used to stave off the threat of cuts to CTA, Metra and Pace while the state struggles to pay up.
While the RTA has been calling for leeway to borrow more cash since it revealed the state’s non-payment came out earlier this year, it’s not a cure-all by any means, officials said. Instead, it’s a tool they’ll use to put off paying back the money they already borrowed. Read more...
It’s been less than two weeks since CTA service cuts hit Chicago, and the specter of a new doomsday is looming again — perhaps as soon as this May.
That’s because the state still owes the Regional Transportation Authority $250 million, and the clock is ticking for the RTA to dole that necessary operating cash out to its subsidiaries CTA, Metra and Pace.
The only thing that’s keeping the RTA from cutting funding to the transit agencies is a rainy-day fund of borrowed cash it’s been relying on since July. However, that fund has dwindled to about $90 million — only enough to maintain current service levels through May, officials said at an RTA board meeting this morning. Read more...
The state of Illinois has not paid the Regional Transportation Authority since July and now owes the transit agency $250 million, the RTA said today.
The recession has forced state government to pick and choose where to send its limited funding, and the Chicago region's transportation agencies have gotten the short end of the stick.
To bridge the gap, the RTA has the authority to issue $260 million in "working cash" — essentially IOU notes. While the RTA still has a few other sources of funding to get by on, the state’s non-payment could become a big problem if it lasts much longer. Read more...
