What the mass transit funding bill means for riders, agencies

For months, Illinois transit leaders warned of a doomsday scenario that would hobble the region’s mass transit systems.

Dozens of bus lines were on the chopping block, they warned, along with whole portions of the “L.” Thousands of workers faced the threat of layoffs. Transit advocates warned that service cuts would have wide-ranging consequences for the Chicago economy and the environment.

As of Friday morning, that scenario seems to be in the rearview mirror.

After multiple failed legislative proposals, state lawmakers finally got a transit funding deal across the finish line in the early morning hours on Friday. Gov. JB Pritzker said he intends to sign the measure into law.

In addition to raising around $1.5 billion, the deal will overhaul the Chicago region’s mass transit sys