Suburban legislators, advocates discuss mass transit

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With a fiscal cliff for the Chicago region’s transit system in the rearview mirror, suburban riders could see a streamlined fare system, more frequent trains and more transit-oriented development, some suburban lawmakers and advocates say, following the recent passage of a $1.5 billion state funding bill for mass transit .

After months of transit talk and failed legislative proposals as the clock ticked to avert an impending fiscal cliff for mass transit in the Chicago region, Illinois lawmakers on Oct. 31 passed a plan that fills the funding gap, adds initiatives meant to bolster safety and prevent planned service cuts and layoffs and overhauls the Chicago region’s mass transit system by creating a new governing body to oversee the CT