10/15/2025
“Historically, Black voices have been omitted in transit decision-making.”
For over 50 years, Chicago’s South Side has waited for the Red Line to extend beyond 95th Street – a promise made in 1969 and still unfulfilled. Today, that delay represents more than a missing train line. Black communities are being disinvested and excluded and it’s continuing to shape the realities of the Black communities. Loss of transportation access, economic opportunity, housing stability, and Black voice and political power in community planning.
When the federal government threatens to withhold $2.1B in Red Line Extension funding, it erases opportunity to correct decades of inequity. This project is more than infrastructure – it’s a commitment to access, connection, and economic mobility for residents who’ve been systematically cut off from opportunity.
Adam Slade, Director of State Fiscal Policy & Governance (IBAI):
“Illinois must double-down on its commitment to fair access to transit.”
“Now is the time for full infrastructure inclusion on the South Side. Now is the time to implement the 95th Street Corridor Plan to preserve existing housing and businesses and redevelop vacant land and buildings. Now is the time to implement the Red Line Extension Transit-Supportive Development (TSD) Plan in partnership with community leaders.”
This is transit equity.
Read Adam’s full op-ed at Crain’s Chicago Business: “Chicago would sustain a big blow if federal transit funding disappears” https://lnkd.in/eH8VZxEP
Review the 95th Street Corridor Plan and the Red Line Extension Transit-Supportive Development (TSD) Plan at the links in our IG Story.
🚊 What does transit equity look like where you live?
