SPRINGFIELD – State lawmakers approved new funding for public transportation agencies without large statewide tax increases previously proposed. Instead, the measure would be fueled by revenue sources that currently feed the state’s Road Fund and an increased sales tax targeted to the Chicago area.

Public transit across the country is slowly but surely recovering from sharp drop in usage during the pandemic, and Hampton Roads transportation officials on Tuesday discussed the ways they’re working to continue that trend.

Plan includes a state motor fuel sales tax, using interest from the state’s road fund, a sales tax increase in the Chicago metro area and a sharp increase in tolls on the Illinois Tollway.

Two key negotiators on public transit reform in the Illinois House filed a bill Tuesday to raise up to $2 billion for public transit by taxing entertainment and the unrealized investment gains of billionaires.