Chicago Transit Authority Facing $771 Million Annual Budget Deficit in 2026

As the threat of a federal deficit of a predicted $771 million approaches in 2026, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is partnering with Chicago residents to prepare next year’s public transit budget.

Throughout the pandemic, federal programs such as the Covid Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act — which provided economic assistance to American families, companies and industries during the pandemic — aided the CTA during times of reduced ridership. With those grants expiring in 2026, the CTA will lose funding, threatening 40% of all services, according to the Alliance for Citizen Engagement (ACE).

While Illinois legislators are attempting to lighten the deficit through the Illinois House and Senate, passing laws is proving to be difficult.

The CTA is expected to be the first to hit their fiscal cliff, with Metra, Chicago’s regional commuter rail system and Pace, a suburban bus arm of the RTA following closely behind, according to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA).

To address the current fiscal distress, the CTA held three town hall meetings, the most recent Sept. 25.

Acting President of the CTA Nora Leerhsen said she considers Chicago’s transit system to be in a fiscal crisis and in need of a solution.

“Like transit agencies across the country, the CTA is facing a budget gap,” Leerhsen said. “We’re working with our state legislators to come to a solution.”

Currently without a solution, Leerhsen said it’s important to gather thoughts from the community regarding possible scenarios in case funding was removed from the CTA.

Illinois Department of Human Services caseworker Everett Buiter, who attended the town hall meeting Sept. 25, said a budget cut would be a “doomsday scenario” for Chicago. 

“If the budget cuts do happen, it’s going to be really bad,” Buiter said. “Traffic is going to become terrible.”

Another town hall meeting attendee, Kellyn Toomre, 22, said she finds the possibility of budget cuts ridiculous.

“If the CTA loses any funding or service it would be totally detrimental to its riders,” Toomre said. “The whole city is built on CTA riders.”

The CTA’s services benefit a large range of age groups, specifically aiding those without driver’s licenses, according to CTA. Forty-four percent of young adults ages 16 to 20 are a part of this statistic, meaning budget cuts would have an overwhelming effect on college-age adults.

First-year neuroscience major Alexis Bubela said a removal of the CTA’s services would directly affect Loyola students, especially those who are native to the Chicago area.

“If you live around here it could affect how you get home or how you visit family,” Bubela said. “Commuters might not be able to get to campus as easily.”

Other meeting attendees felt that a cut in the CTA budget would result in a variety of issues, regarding job stability, highway traffic and the ability to get basic needs.

DePaul University student Ella Stucky, 22, said she feels there’s a lack of accessibility and timeliness already within CTA, and budget cuts would prevent officials from fixing the current issues.

“To take out this main line of transportation, it would back up all the highways,” Stucky said. “People wouldn’t be able to get to their jobs on time.”

CTA Chief Innovation Officer Molly Poppe agreed with Stucky, and said a decrease in transit funding would lead to a decline in service provided to the ridership.

“What a future of transit could look like without transit funding would be more crowded buses or trains or more hours waiting for a bus or train,” Poppe said.

Transit funding cuts would affect not only CTA riders, but the entire city of Chicago. With the possibility of fewer routes and reliable service coming from the CTA, highway congestion would be a high probability, according to Poppe.

College student, Elliot Pham, 23, uses CTA in his daily life and said he worries budget cuts will result in a prominent separation of communities throughout the city.

Pham said he is worried major historical issues such as gentrification and homelessness are bound to be affected by the fiscal issue as well. He said he’s concerned affected groups will be left stranded.

“Transit is connectivity — it’s bridging gaps between communities,” Pham said. “If we get rid of this, it divides sections of the city from one another.”

Pham also said lack of initiative to provide more funding for the CTA is a result of Chicago officials delaying the process.

“We have a city and state that doesn’t want to see their workers get places,” Pham said.

While Pham said he feels the quality of transportation isn’t a priority of Chicago’s officials. Leerhsen emphasized the CTA’s focus towards improving their services since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CTA has been focusing their budget on consistent issues, such as smoking and crime on public transportation, Leehrsen said. The CTA’s partnership with the Chicago Police Department has included camera installments on trains and a CTA-focused strategic decision support center, which provides security with the ability to investigate and prosecute crime on CTA, according to Leehrsen.

Attendee Buiter said he feels reducing crime is a priority the CTA should have in mind.

“Smoking, drug selling and violent crimes are occurring on the trains,” Buiter said. “It’s one of the biggest issues.”

The CTA’s main focus in 2025 has been improving accessibility, specifically improving the Blue Line in the Forest Park direction, which would head west of the city. These projects are great examples of how funding can benefit a city like Chicago and its people, according to Leehrsen.

“If you give us the money, look what we can do,” Leehrsen said.