RTA, PACE and Metra present 2026 budgets to Kane County board after state transit law; no fare increases, expanded funding projected

Representatives from PACE, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and Metra presented their 2026 budgets to the Kane County Board on Dec. 9, describing a significant funding shift created by recent state legislation.

RTA board member Chris Groban thanked the county for advocacy and said the new funding package will prevent layoffs and service cuts, noting that riders would see "no fare increases in 2026." Executive director Leanne Redden described the funding as transformational: "This is transformational funding," she said, and outlined an initial tranche of new revenues from a quarter‑percent RTA sales tax and reallocated state gas tax estimated at about $199 million and $366 million, respectively, with the region expected to receive roughly $1.2 billion annually by 2027 when full flows begin.

Redden and Groban said those revenues, together with governance reforms in the legislation (identified in meeting materials as Senate Bill 2111), will allow CTA, Metra and PACE to avoid service cuts, hire staff, improve on‑street safety and invest in ADA and access‑to‑transit capital projects. The RTA presenters also described a roughly $9.3 billion five‑year capital program and additional state capital funds projected to add roughly $180–200 million statewide for region projects.

Metra chairman/director McMahon said Metra's 2026 operating budget is balanced with no planned service cuts or fare increases and that the agency expects about 5% annual ridership growth in the short term. "Our 2026 budget continues to rely on COVID relief funding, but we expect that that funding will run out late in 2026," McMahon said, and described steps to transition to the new legislative funding in 2027 and thereafter while maintaining investments in rolling stock, bridges and stations.

Board members asked for performance and cost‑per‑rider breakdowns across operators; RTA staff said such data are available on the agency's transparency portal and offered to provide county‑specific cost‑per‑rider figures. RTA staff also outlined governance changes that will alter board composition and appointment powers under the new regional entity named in meeting materials as the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (new regional entity). County staff noted final budgets will be approved at the RTA board's Dec. 18 meeting.

The presentations framed 2026 as a stabilization year for operations, with capital project planning and pilot programs (including transit ambassadors and expanded paratransit options) expected to follow as new funds are allocated.