Alex Nitkin
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alexnitkin.bsky.social
Alex Nitkin
@alexnitkin.bsky.social
690 followers 300 following 88 posts
Government Finance & Accountability reporter,
@IllinoisAnswers/@BetterGov. Formerly of @thedailylinechi, @trdchicago & @DNAinfoChi. Tips: [email protected]
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alexnitkin.bsky.social
At a series of meetings last year, residents in the collar counties begged for better transit. Still, some leaders are opting to take even more money out of transportation in favor of law enforcement.
A screenshot of the following text in the article: Pierog, the chairperson of the Kane County Board, defended county leaders’ recent decision to shift an even greater share of the county’s RTA sales tax money away from transportation in favor of its jail and courts. “They had to take money from transportation to be able to support the needs for public safety,” Pierog said in an interview with Illinois Answers Project. “Since population has increased, the need for public safety has also increased.” “Unfortunately, we all have to take an adjustment, a fiscal adjustment, until we can find other paths,” Pierog said. As a result of the transition to spending more on public safety, the county has paused about 19 transportation-related projects, such as safety upgrades to an accident-prone intersection, Rickert said. A screenshot of the following text in the article: Also testifying was Maya Wade, a student at Elgin Community College in Kane County. Wade had to quit the job she loved as an optician at a small, family-owned business in Wheaton because there were “no feasible” public transit options, and she was spending half of her monthly budget on Ubers – upwards of $80 a day. “From my perspective and experience, there’s not enough accessibility and transportation for students,” Wade, 31, told the committee. Stories like Wade’s abounded during committee hearings held in the collar counties last year, according to Wennink of the Metropolitan Planning Council. “We listened to hours of them, and literally everyone says they want more transit,” Wennink said. “But meanwhile, the money that is given to the counties for transit is not being used on transit. So there’s a disconnect there.”
October 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
These counties use some of the money to fund dial-a-ride transit services that have made life possible for people who in the suburbs who don't drive.
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/28/c...
The programs have shown a path forward for suburban transit. But they have big shortcomings:
These Counties Spend Transit Tax Money on Ride Services. They’re Lifelines for Thousands of Residents
Fledgling dial-a-ride networks are filling gaps in public transit in the collar counties, but they struggle to meet demand.
illinoisanswers.org
October 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
A proposal emerged this spring that would have clawed back the RTA tax dollars for use by a new regional transportation authority.
County leaders fought back, saying it would deprive them of money they need for street resurfacing, cops and courts.
A screenshot of the following text in the article: DuPage is the only county that spends its entire share of the tax on law enforcement. It taps other revenues to fund about $1.8 million annually for paratransit and $1.25 million in yearly spending on projects related to transit like sidewalk construction, county officials said. “In every resident survey we do, we hear loud and clear residents’ No. 1 priority is public safety,” Conroy said. “If the state takes its revenue from us, there will be massive layoffs in the public safety sector, including the sheriff’s office, state’s attorney’s office, public defender and probation.” During negotiations earlier this year about how to pull Chicago-area transit agencies from the brink of a fiscal cliff, a proposal emerged that would have redirected the collar counties’ shares of the RTA sales tax toward a sweeping new agency, dubbed the Northeast Illinois Transit Authority.
October 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
The funding mismatch is allowed thanks to a 2008 state law that was negotiated, in part, by a DuPage County state legislator named Kirk Dillard.
We talked to Dillard, who now chairs the RTA. He disavowed his role in the loophole being added.
A screenshot of the following text in the article: The law raised the existing RTA sales tax to 1% in Cook County and 0.75% in the collar counties, in part to fund Pace’s administration of a regional paratransit system — but it allowed the collars to keep one-third of the revenues — as long as they spent the money on “public transportation services or facilities or to fund operating, capital, right-of-way, construction, and maintenance costs of other transportation purposes.” The bill lacked the votes it needed to pass, according to Conroy — until three Republican legislators from DuPage County offered their support if three words were added before the spending limitations: “public safety and.” One of those legislators was State Sen. Kirk Dillard, who is now chairman of the RTA. “It probably was a political decision made by legislative leaders — not by me, I was just a rank-and-file member at the time,” Dillard said in an interview. “The counties had pressures, budgetary pressures."
October 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
The collars last year collected a combined $193M in
@rtachicago.bsky.social sales taxes. They spent less than 2% of it on a loose web of fledgling transit services. The rest went to roadway engineering and — thanks to a legal loophole — law enforcement.
datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RLcPS/7/
How collar counties spent RTA sales tax revenues in 2024
Some counties spend part of the money to operate dial-a-ride paratransit. The rest is predominantly used to pay for road infrastructure, jails and courthouses.
datawrapper.dwcdn.net
October 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
And here’s @blockclubchi.bsky.social’s great coverage of what happened yesterday:
blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/21/i...
ICE Tells North Side Alderperson To Back Off As She Warns Neighbors About Immigration Agents
Masked agents approached Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez and her chief of staff in an alley, where they were told they were impeding ICE activities. A state representative said he was also approached b...
blockclubchicago.org
October 22, 2025 at 8:12 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
Huynh released this video of the encounter:
October 22, 2025 at 2:02 AM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
Alders are eagerly awaiting a breakdown of how much money is being drawn from each TIF.
(The rest of us are, too)
October 16, 2025 at 4:24 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
City employee headcount continues to decline under mayor's proposal, with 443 fewer full-time equivalent employees in '26 than '25.
ARP funds, which must be spent by 12/31/26, to back eight city positions next year.
(Reminder: City has not provided a list of ARP-funded employees)
October 16, 2025 at 4:12 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
In summary, a reality check: get ready for a long and painful budget season, because all the easy levers have already been pulled. There are not enough "cuts and efficiencies" that can close a $1.2B budget hole on their own without impairing/reducing city services.
October 15, 2025 at 8:28 PM
alexnitkin.bsky.social
So can Chicago balance its books by trimming ARPA-funded programs it can no longer afford? The city might get some savings here, but not much, considering almost all the fed $$ replaced lost revenue during the pandemic or paid for grants and contracts that have already expired.
October 15, 2025 at 8:28 PM