Trump Freezes $2.1 Billion for Chicago Transit and Infrastructure Projects

The Trump administration is withholding $2.1 billion in federal funding for infrastructure projects in Chicago, including funds for the city’s Red Line train extension, report Craig Wall and Sarah Schulte for ABC 7.

According to Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson, “The Red and Purple Modernization Project has already brought tangible improvements for North Side transit riders, including reduced travel times and four brand-new, fully-accessible stations. “The Red Line extension is slated to add four train stops on the city's South Side, improving access for disadvantaged communities.”

This work was set to continue in the coming years with additional stations rebuilt to be fully accessible. These improvements would have benefited the more than 175,000 daily riders while increasing economic vitality in the surrounding communities.”

The mayor says the city will sue the administration over the funds, which the Department of Transportation says it is reviewing “to ensure no additional federal dollars go towards discriminatory, illegal, and wasteful contracting practices” — likely related to minority set aside contracts in the rail project. “A broader modernization project for the Red and Purple lines on the North Side, which Vought said was also being targeted, is intended to upgrade stations and remove a bottleneck where different lines intersect.”