Illinois
Four intrepid reporters from the Chicago Tribune raced to O'Hare International Airport by personal car, a ride-share, on CTA, and on Metra to decide which is fastest.
Chicago Tribune
Fixed route bus ridership in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois has gone up for 13 consecutive months.
WGLT
A 25 percent tariff on steel imports could eventually be passed to transit riders in the form of higher fares.
The Chicago Tribune
According to a newly released working paper, people in 20th century noticed the air and noise pollution and severed neighborhoods caused by freeways, and many of those people chose to move to the suburbs rather than deal with the nuisance.
PlanPhilly
Cafes on the city's South Side are more than just businesses. They also provide important spaces for community building and economic development in neighborhoods that have been historically overlooked.
Chicago Tribune
On July 1, Illinois and Ohio increased gas taxes by double digits: 19 cents per gallon and 10.5 CPG, respectively, followed by California at 5.6 CPG, all due to legislation passed this year or in 2017. Diesel tax hikes were even higher.
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
A dataset on health measures in U.S. cities shows the difference in life expectancy between two Chicago neighborhoods is 30 years.
The Guardian
A large, powerful coalition of advocacy groups, local universities, and other organizations sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to consider congestion pricing for single-occupant automobile trips in the city's core.
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune says the city of Chicago can't be trusted with tax increment financing (TIF), so it's time for a do-over.
Chicago Tribune
An algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in an oxygen-starved area the size of Massachusetts. Part of the problem is sewage runoff flowing south from Chicago.
Chicago Tribune
Chicago’s alderman have control of millions of dollars of street resurfacing "menu money" for local projects. Inspector General Joe Ferguson argues that money would be better spent in a coordinated effort.
Chicago Sun-Times
The $45 billion transportation bill approved by the Illinois Legislature ended up including more public transit funding than it originally offered, but a Kendall County Metra project raises questions.
Streetsblog Chicago
To switch to fully electric bus fleets, transit agencies can invest in batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. Both have their advantages.
Governing
Richard Driehaus attests to the importance of intentional, context-oriented design on the neighborhood level.
Crain's Chicago Business
The decision about where to locate a new casino project depends on competing goals—to maximize revenues or bring jobs and development to neighborhoods that need them.
Chicago Tribune
Failing golf courses pose a choice for cities that can use tax dollars to turn them public or put the land to use in other ways.
Crain's Chicago Business
Advocates are relieved Elon Musk's proposal to build a new subterranean connection to O'Hare is dead, but still disappointed at the wasted brainpower and public funding devoted to the idea.
Chicago Sun-Times
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling that found that the Iowa Utilities Board was justified in giving the private owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline the use of eminent domain. Climate change was considered in the ruling.
Des Moines Register
First-term Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker succeeded in building support for his $45 billion, "think big" capital investment agenda in the Illinois State Legislature.
Chicago Tribune
The el/El/L debate has never been resolved, but the CTA says its usage is the correct one.
Chicago Magazine
