Will County Gazette

Travis Weaver, a State Representative of Illinois, expressed concerns over a proposed $1.9 billion tax increase, which he argued would unfairly compel taxpayers statewide to finance Chicago's Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). His remarks were made public through a Facebook post.

"House Democrats are pushing a massive $1.9 billion tax hike to bail out the Chicago area's Regional Transportation Authority," said Travis Robert Weaver, Illinois State Representative for 93rd District (R), according to Facebook. "No common sense reforms to actually fix the ridership problems, just more taxes on families across the state. Citizens in Pekin, Peoria, and Kewanee, even way down south in Cairo, are expected to bail out Chicago transit. The Chicago RTA created this problem, and it is their mess to fix."

In late October 2025, the RTA funding crisis led the Illinois General Assembly into a contentious fall veto session. Lawmakers debated a rescue package valued at approximately $1.5 billion to prevent significant service reductions across the Chicago-area transit system. According to reports from Axios and ABC7 Chicago, the proposed deal included governance reforms and targeted reallocations of sales and fuel taxes instead of imposing broad statewide taxes. This approach faced opposition from downstate legislators who contended that the financial burden was disproportionately placed on the Chicago region. The discussions underscored ongoing challenges related to post-pandemic ridership declines, the expiration of federal relief funds, and necessary structural reforms in transit governance and funding within Illinois.

The RTA reported an increase in ridership for 2024, reaching 309.2 million rides—an 11% rise compared to 2023—but this figure still represented only about 62% of pre-pandemic levels from 2019, as noted by the Civic Federation. Additionally, estimates from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning suggested that without intervention, the regional system could face a budget shortfall exceeding $730 million starting in 2026.

Under the agreement reached in 2025, Illinois authorized a 0.25 percentage-point increase in sales tax for the RTA region, raising it to 1.0% in collar counties and 1.25% in Cook County. This measure is projected to generate approximately $478 million annually; toll increases and fuel-tax reallocations were also part of the package. In contrast with other states' transit funding strategies—such as Massachusetts dedicating a portion of its statewide sales tax to its transportation authority or New York expanding payroll taxes on employers—the Illinois plan focuses on local sales-tax hikes and fund transfers rather than broad employer or general-fund tax increases.

Weaver represents Illinois House District 93 and began his term on January 11, 2023. Raised in Peoria County, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Marketing from The University of Alabama and an MBA from Northwestern University. He has previously worked in finance and strategy roles at Caterpillar Inc., teaches business at Bradley University, and serves on committees including Revenue & Finance and Public Utilities.