A special taxing district to help fund the long-sought CTA Red Line southern extension got the nod from the Chicago City Council Wednesday.
The tax-increment financing district, which will span from downtown to the South Side Bronzeville neighborhood, was OK’d by a voice vote, with Ald. Pat Dowell the only dissention.
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot still has to find other funding sources, but the Wednesday vote to pay for some of the $3.6 billion extension via a new transit tax-increment financing district was a major step. The TIF district is expected to generate about $959 million and would help fund a 5.6-mile extension. But support from the federal government will likely be needed to make the transit expansion a reality.
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If all goes according to plan, construction on the extension could begin in 2025, and the project could be finished by 2029. CTA officials have billed its construction as a matter of equity, noting that large swaths of the Far South Side are cut off from rail service, but those communities could stand to shave more than 30 minutes off their commutes with this extension.
