Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed legislation that raises $1.5 billion to fill a fiscal hole for the Chicago area’s public transit agencies that was set to kick in next year.

Senate Bill 2111 doesn’t include any statewide tax increases but relies on increased sales tax in the Chicago area and a diversion of funds from the state’s Road Fund, Capitol News Illinois reported.

Reaction to the measure has drawn mixed reviews along not only party lines but regional ones as well, with lawmakers outside the Chicago area saying it will only bring in $129 million for transit agencies outside the suburban Chicago market.

Legislators in the suburban area were split, with Republicans opposing the bill and Democrats backing it.

“We’re creating a better public transit system that is financially accountable to taxpayers,” said state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego. “These are necessary reforms that will strengthen transit agency operations, improve paratransit for individuals with disabilities and is helping meet the demands of local commuters for years to come. I’m looking forward to these needed changes.”

She called the law a “transformational package of reforms” that brings Pace, CTA, and Metra together into “one modern, efficient system. The new Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) is a major step toward a transit system that gets people where they need to go affordably, protects taxpayers, and offers a better experience for riders and workers.”

By contrast, Republican State Sen. Sue Rezin of Morris said Senate Bill 2111 redirects funding away from downstate roads and infrastructure and raises taxes in suburban communities “to bail out Chicago’s failing transit system.”

“I am deeply disappointed by Governor Pritzker’s decision to sign Senate Bill 2111 into law,” she said. “This legislation takes hundreds of millions of dollars meant for downstate roads and bridges and redirects it to bail out Chicago’s failing transit system, while suburban families are hit with higher taxes to cover the cost.”

Likewise, Sen. Darby Hills, R-Barrington Hills, who voted against the bill, said suburban families are being hit with higher taxes and toll hikes, “this time to bailout Mayor Brandon Johnson and the CTA. Families are already struggling under the rising cost of everyday life, and this law makes it even harder to afford the daily necessities they rely on.”

“On top of that, the law hands greater control of our transit system to a Chicago-dominated board that is not accountable to our communities, leaving us to pay more while having less say,” he said in a written statement.

The new law takes money away from regions outside for the Chicago area, funds that could be used to improve local infrastructure needs, he said.

The law sends funds north “even though many of these families will never use Chicago’s buses or trains. Downstate communities rely on those funds to maintain safe roads, support local economies, and keep people connected,” Hills said. “Illinois families deserve better than another tax-and-spend plan that puts Chicago first and leaves the rest of the state behind.”

The Regional Transportation Authority, Chicago Transit Agency, Metra commuter rail and Pace Suburban Bus collectively faced a $230 million funding shortfall in 2026.

Capitol News Illinois reported the funding deficit was projected to grow to $834 million in 2027 and $937 million in 2028.

Without action in Springfield to plug that gap, the transit agencies said they could have been forced to cut services by 40%, Capitol News Illinois reported.

The transit agencies have approved 2026 budgets without fare hikes or service cuts.

State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, the Minority spokesperson for the Senate Transportation Committee, was also critical of the new law, saying it is not a reform but rather forces the suburbs to subsidize years of “mismanagement by the City of Chicago and the Chicago Transit Authority.”

“Rather than delivering real accountability, the plan relies on new toll hikes and sales tax increases that fall hardest on suburban families and working taxpayers,” he said in a statement. “Families across the six-county transit region will also face higher sales taxes, all while suburban representation and influence on the new NITA board are reduced.”

“Suburban taxpayers are paying more, losing their voice, and being asked to bail out a broken system they do not control. Residents of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties were sold out. It’s that simple,” DeWitt said.