Transportation overhaul taking shape with toll increase, new board appointees

SPRINGFIELD — A recently passed state law is beginning to reshape Illinois’ transportation landscape, as drivers on state tollways will see rate hikes and a new oversight board is taking shape.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority on Wednesday approved the first toll rate increase in 15 years.

And Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday announced his appointments to the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority board, which will replace the Regional Transportation Authority next month as the body overseeing the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra commuter rail and Pace Suburban Bus.

Toll hike approved

The Tollway Board approved rate hikes for all vehicles on Wednesday that will take effect Jan. 1. Passenger vehicles will pay 45 cents more when passing through each toll while truckers will pay on average 30% more. Tolls will increase based on inflation every two years going forward without further approval from the board.

Toll rates vary depending on toll road, type of vehicle and whether the car has an I-PASS, but generally range from 45 cents to $3 for passenger vehicles under the current rates.  Even with the increase, the Tollway claimed in a news release the average per-mile cost is still 5 cents below the national average.

The hike will fund a $26.5 billion capital program that includes major projects across the tollway system, which stretches as far west as Rockford and Dixon.

“Nearly 1.7 million drivers rely on this system every day, and our responsibility extends well beyond the next construction season,” Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse said in a statement. “We know where congestion is growing, and we know how our infrastructure ages. Driving Connections gives us a responsible path to meet those needs and keep Northern Illinois moving for the next generation.”

Public transit overhaul

The toll hike was permitted by legislation passed last fall to reform and fund public transportation throughout the state, but especially in the Chicago area.

While the bill redirected Road Fund money away from road construction projects to public transportation, it also allowed the Tollway to substantially raise revenue to fund a new capital plan. It was part of a deal between lawmakers and labor unions to find a funding source for public transportation without substantially reducing road work in the state.

Marc Poulos from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 told lawmakers last year the increase could boost Tollway funding by $1 billion annually.

Gov. JB Pritzker defended the toll increase following a political rally at the State Fair. He touted measures he’s approved to lower costs and blamed Republican policies at the national level for raising the price of gas and groceries.

“We want to make sure that our roads are pothole-free, that we’re making sure to build more so that we can build our economy across the state of Illinois,” Pritzker told reporters.

Pritzker’s Republican opponent, Darren Bailey, slammed the toll hike during Republican events around the fair on Thursday and called for abolishing tolls entirely, though he did not specify a funding source for future road construction.

“What do you think happens to all the everyday prices of every item that is trucked into Chicago, into Illinois, all across the country?” Bailey’s running mate, Aaron Del Mar, told reporters. “That price raises up. So you can’t talk about affordability at the same time as you’re raising taxes.”

Among other projects, the Tollway plan includes reconstruction of the I-88/I-355 interchange outside the Tollway’s Downers Grove headquarters, a new interchange on I-294 at Irving Park Road south of O’Hare Airport, parking and employee access off I-490 on the west side of O’Hare, and resurfacing, bridge repairs and technology upgrades throughout the system.

Tollway officials argued these projects, while creating headaches for drivers initially, pay off later by reducing congestion. The Jane Addams Expressway expansion completed nearly a decade ago reduced travel times by 25 minutes, according to the Tollway.

Transit board taking shape

NITA’s 20-member board will be comprised of five members each appointed by Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Boad President Toni Preckwinkle, as well as one each by the county board chairs of Kane, Lake, McHenry, DuPage and Will counties.

The new board, which takes over Sept. 1, is designed to be a stronger version of the RTA, with broad authority to establish a universal fare system and coordinate schedules between the CTA, Metra and Pace.  And under the new structure, several members of the larger NITA board will also serve on the three service agencies’ boards — enough to form majorities on those boards to promote cooperation and alignment across the systems.

Pritzker’s appointees to NITA are Bashir Qaasim, Nedra Sims Fears, Nirali Shah, Rosa Ortiz and Vanessa Uribe. The governor also reappointed Neema Jha to the CTA board.

Qaasim, who will also serve on Metra’s board, is vice president of The Whole Group, where he advises large organizations on how to deploy artificial intelligence. He previously held senior roles at tech companies Aforza and Accenture, advising on technology and organizational strategy, according to the governor’s office.

Sims Fears, who will also serve on the CTA’s board, is the executive director of the Greater Chatham Initiative, which promotes investment and economic growth on Chicago’s South Side. She previously worked in banking and community development financing at Fannie Mae, the city of Chicago and the Community Investment Corporation.

Ortiz, who will also serve on Pace’s board, is an urban planner and the founder of 3e Studio, a planning and community development consulting firm. She’s served on the CTA board since 2021 and was previously a deputy commissioner in the city of Chicago’s Department of Housing and has held leadership positions in organizations like the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

Uribe is an associate vice president at The Chicago Community Trust and previously worked as chief deputy in the Illinois Secretary of State’s executive office and as chief of staff and deputy director of the Office of Economic Equity and Empowerment within the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Uribe will only serve on NITA.

Jha, who will only serve on the CTA board, is a director at Charles River Associates, where she advises large organizations on technology infrastructure modernization. She’s served on the board since 2021.

“My board members will play a critical role in modernizing Illinois’ transit systems so we can continue to strengthen operations, make necessary upgrades, and better connect communities across our state,” Pritzker said in a news release. “I am proud to appoint highly qualified, dedicated Illinoisans who will help advance this important work.”

Pritzker’s appointments are subject to approval by the Illinois Senate.

Johnson, Preckwinkle and collar county officials announced their picks for the boards of NITA and the three service agencies under its purview earlier this summer.

Unlike the RTA board, whose 15 appointed members elected an outsider as chair, the NITA Board will elect one of its own members chair by a simple majority vote at its first meeting. The chair will be subject to Senate confirmation until 2030. Suburban lawmakers criticized the new structure during legislative debate for potentially allowing appointees who live in Cook County to outweigh suburban members.

Kirk Dillard, the RTA’s chairman since 2014, was not appointed to the NITA board.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.