Hours before the 104th Illinois General Assembly adjourned its initial session May 31 by law, the State Senate voted 32-22 for legislation creating the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) to help avoid a $771 million fiscal cliff facing public transportation in northeastern Illinois.

With little time remaining in the session, the Illinois House of Representatives was unable to consider the Senate-amended version of the bill, postponing a final vote and elimination of the fiscal cliff until the legislature’s veto session in October.

Along with helping public transportation keep running in Chicagoland at its current level without reducing service or cutting jobs, the NITA bill provides for a variety of improvements to meet the needs of at least the next two decades.

When the corona

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