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Evanston council adds school-focused recital and approves resolution urging state action on transit funding
Summary
The council included an ETHS-related recital in a resolution urging state lawmakers to address a transit funding shortfall and approved the measure as part of the consent agenda; local transit advocates urged the council to support a larger reform agenda.
The Evanston City Council on April 28 approved a resolution urging Illinois lawmakers to address an anticipated fiscal shortfall for the Chicago-area transit agencies and to prevent service cuts, and a recital referencing Evanston Township High School was added to the resolution at committee request before it was left on the consent agenda.
Public speakers, including transportation advocates, urged the council to record its concern about the looming "fiscal cliff" facing CTA, Metra and PACE. Robert Keaton told the council that while Evanston cannot solve the statewide funding issue alone, "it is important that we are on record to underscore the urgency and to reinforce just how detrimental a degraded transit network would be for our city." Michael Kroll, representing Go Evanston’s transportation subgroup, urged broader regional reform and said continued duplication and lack of coordination among agencies makes transfers and service planning difficult for riders.
Council staff reported that the version of the resolution considered in committee was amended to add a recital clause at the request of Evanston Township High School to note the importance of transit service for students. The amended resolution (A12, identified in committee as Resolution 45 R25 in public comment) remained on the consent agenda; the council adopted the consent agenda with that and other items 8–0 earlier in the meeting.
Speakers at the meeting suggested local steps the city can take regardless of Springfield, such as revising the local bike plan, expanding protected bike lanes, making transit stops ADA-accessible, and restarting an analysis for a new CTA yellow-line station to serve additional wards. The resolution as adopted is a formal expression of council support for state action to avert service cuts; it does not direct city staff to adopt specific local transit projects in this action. No formal changes to city budgets or contracts were approved in this item.
