Kane County Reporter

Senator Don DeWitte recently participated in a discussion on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" alongside his Senate Transportation partner, Senator Ram Villivalam. In an October 8 Facebook post, DeWitte expressed satisfaction with the opportunity to discuss ongoing Senate hearings focused on addressing fiscal challenges faced by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA).

"I was pleased to join my Senate Transportation partner Sen Ram Villavalum this week on WTTW's “Chicago Tonight,” to discuss ongoing Senate hearings about dealing with crisis fiscal issues at the RTA," said Don Dewitte, State Senator, according to Facebook. "We need a truly regional and well-coordinated mass transit system that works for its riders within the 6 county region."

According to DeWitte's Facebook post, he shared a link to a WTTW article highlighting legislative efforts to merge Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), and Pace into a single transit entity known as the Metropolitan Mobility Authority. DeWitte and Villivalam deliberated on this proposed merger during their appearance. "I think we can all agree that the RTA, or the MMA, as it may be called eventually, does have to have control over all three of those service boards who, up until this point, have all operated almost in a silo," said DeWitte in the article.

Screenshot of Sen. Don DeWitte's Oct. 8 Facebook post | State Senator Don DeWitte Facebook page

In an October 11 news release, the CTA proposed a $2.16 billion budget aimed at maintaining stable fares while increasing bus and rail service hours compared to 2019 levels. The release also highlighted a $730 million combined budget shortfall for CTA, Metra, and Pace. According to the release: "This deficit is a direct result of an inadequate state funding formula, passed in 1983."

On October 10, Metra announced its $1.135 billion operating budget for 2025. The proposal leaves fares unchanged and includes a capital plan valued at $366.5 million. Jim Derwinski, Metra Executive Director/CEO, said: "After the major fare policy and fare purchasing changes that we asked our customers to accept in last year’s budget..."

DeWitte has been serving Illinois' 33rd senate district since his appointment in 2018. Before this role, he was mayor of St. Charles from 2005 to 2013 and served as an alderman from 1993 to 2005. He also represented Kane County on the Regional Transportation Authority Board from 2013 to 2018.