Take the pledge to fight for transit.

The Northern Illinois Transit Authority is here!

Last year, you fought alongside us to defend public transit from falling off the fiscal cliff. We were facing an $800 million dollar deficit, and staring down the barrel of losing nearly half our transit service in the entire region.

This was an existential threat, and you stepped up to make it clear to legislators that they had to act.

But we didn’t just save transit from going over the edge – we fought for critical reforms to build a system that works better. The Northern Illinois Transit Authority, or NITA, replaces the Regional Transit Authority, with new powers designed to unite our transit systems. Things like unified planning, a single fare system, the introduction of Transit Ambassadors and service standards, are just some of the ways that NITA is intended to make transit more connected, more reliable, and safer – whether you’re taking Metra, CTA, or Pace.

But none of this is a guarantee, and will take time to implement and get right. And there are already forces at play trying to undermine the power of the system or divert funds away from service.

In a time where the importance of transit couldn’t be clearer, with higher gas prices and rising cost of living, we must hold our leaders accountable to deliver on the promise of NITA.