Will County officials hear lobbying update as Illinois veto session approaches; transit funding and energy bills remain uncertain

Lobbyists updating the Will County Board on state matters told members that Illinois lawmakers will meet for a two-week veto session beginning Oct. 30 and that high-profile items including transit funding and an energy bill remain unsettled.

The board’s MacStrategies lobbyist said the so-called transit “fiscal cliff” estimate the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) had used in spring—about $771,000,000—has declined in short-term estimates after higher-than-expected sales-tax revenue and intra-agency transfers, and now is being discussed as “at best half that and actually maybe less.” He said leaders nonetheless are trying to resolve transit issues in veto session but that the odds of passage in veto session are “probably less likely” than not.

Why it matters: transit funding proposals under discussion have included several revenue measures—most notably a per-delivery fee (the Senate-passed bill initially carried a $1.50 fee, later discussed at a lower amount such as $0.50) and a suburban transfer tax to…