NITA Proposes $5.04 Billion 2027 Transit Budget

The Northern Illinois Transit Authority's first proposed budget keeps fares flat while adding bus service and capital spending across the region.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Government

Photograph of an elevated rail embankment and steel lattice viaduct running through a Chicago neighborhood under overcast daylight, with an empty platform edge in the foreground. — The Northern Illinois Transit Authority proposed a $5.04 billion 2027 operating budget that keeps fares flat while adding CTA bus service across the region. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you think public transit in your area is getting better or worse?

The Northern Illinois Transit Authority released its first proposed 2027 operating budget, totaling $5.04 billion, and a five-year capital program of $9.73 billion. The plan covers the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace, with more CTA bus service and no fare increases next year.

Why it matters

The budget is the first produced by the successor to the Regional Transportation Authority, which took over regional transit on Sept. 1. It follows a 2022 warning from the previous agency that it could face a fiscal cliff in 2026 as ridership fell and federal relief funds ran out.

The proposed 2027 operating budget totals $5.04 billion, and the five-year capital program totals $9.73 billion, with nearly $1 billion over five years drawn from state Road Fund and State Construction Account funds. The source does not say whether the plan has been adopted or how it compares with spending in prior years.

The players

Northern Illinois Transit Authority

The regional transit agency that succeeded the Regional Transportation Authority and now oversees transit across northeastern Illinois.

Chicago Transit Authority

The city's principal public transit operator, which runs the rail and bus system covered by the proposed budget.

The details

The proposal includes more CTA bus service, no fare increases, and funding for new CTA buses and rail cars, Metra rail cars and train sets, and Pace buses and a bus rapid transit line. It also adds transit ambassadors, fare gates, better coordination with law enforcement and social services, and a new Office of Transit Safety and Experience, as violent crime on the CTA system declined this year.

2022: The previous agency warned it could face a fiscal cliff in 2026.
Sept. 1: The Northern Illinois Transit Authority took over regional transit.
Nov. 2: The agency released its proposed 2027 budget and capital program.

Political Context

The proposal is the first operating and capital plan produced under the agency created by the state law passed last year that restructured the region's transportation authority and provided $1.5 billion for public transportation. It shows how the new structure intends to spend that funding while addressing the fiscal warnings issued in 2022.

Riders would see more CTA bus service and no fare increases next year if the proposed budget is adopted. Expanded transit ambassadors and fare gates would change how riders interact with stations and staff.

The takeaway

Regional transit funding now depends on a new governing structure and state support, and the proposed budget shows how that structure plans to balance service expansion with fiscal stability.