Four key Illinois legislators say that the upcoming veto session in Springfield will end with a solution in place for the $771 million “fiscal cliff” facing Chicago-area mass transit.

However, specifics in that solution remain a moving target, with the veto session beginning in less than a month.

Two Democrats and two Republicans involved in fiscal cliff negotiations appeared on a Thursday afternoon webcast sponsored by the Lincoln Forum and the Union League Club of Chicago.

Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) sponsored a “solve the fiscal cliff” measure which passed the Senate just before the Spring session expired on May 31, but the bill did not make it out of the House.

Rep. Kam Buckner, another Chicago Democrat, said “we got the bill at 11:47 p.m.” on the last day of session, making it impossible to bring it to a vote.

However, both Democrats agreed that there will be a vote, and a positive vote, later this fall.

Buckner pointed out that “some people are saying we can wait, but for the sake of our transit systems we have to get this done now. I think we will do it.”

The “wait awhile” school of thought is surfacing because the fiscal cliff may not be as imminent as originally projected.

Both Metra and PACE leaders are now saying they should be able to make it through 2026 with no service cuts, and CTA may be able to avoid cuts until midway through the year, in part because of increased internet sales tax revenue, which helps fund transit.

But Villivalam said the long-term needs are still very real, and the projected 40% service reductions without a cliff resolution are out there, even if they’re a bit farther away.

“Some critics say let the crisis happen now, riders need to know it,” he said.

“I don’t buy into that,” he added. “We’re going to solve the crisis. You’ll be able to ride the train because we do this.”

While Democrats control both houses of the Illinois legislature, they want enough GOP support so that this does not look like a party-line decision, nor a Chicagoland decision versus downstate. There will likely be money for downstate transit systems and not just for the Chicago region in any new measure.

Rep. Brad Stephens (R-Rosemont) said there was some opposition to the fiscal cliff bill passed by the Senate in May, particularly over what’s been called the “pizza tax” on some home delivery items ordered online, and also over an expansion of the real estate transfer tax.

Stephens did say that he believes a politically acceptable bill will come out of the legislature, but added he’d like to see it include “some sort of transit police force.”

“There were a couple of horrific incidents on the Blue Line in Rosemont,” Stephens said.

“We’ll see ridership go up” if both the reality and perception of safety are improved.”

Sen. Seth Lewis (R-Bartlett) was the biggest skeptic.

Lewis said it was about 70%-30% that there will be a fiscal cliff measure approved this fall.

Lewis was the only member of the panel who said there is enough time to simply restructure transit operations now (with a new agency replacing the Regional Transportation Authority), and then let that agency start looking for a funding solution in the spring.

Among the major issues to watch as the veto session plays out are:

1. What kind of revenue enhancements (legislative-ese for tax or fee hikes) will be part of any legislation,
2. How will a restructured transit board work,
3. How much money will be in the bill for safety enhancements, and
4. Will the package cover the $771 million cliff, or the $1.5 billion requested by transit advocates to not simply preserve the status quo, but to add more service to more places?

While the two Democrats leaned towards the larger amount, Lewis said, “I’m hesitant to say here’s $1.5 billion. That’s a tough sell.”

The toughest sell might be to voters who do not ride Metra, CTA or PACE.

But Villivalam said massive transit cuts would flood the highways with traffic, making getting around Chicagoland a nightmare.

“Even if you don’t use public transit,” he said, “I promise you you do not want a million people trying to find another way” to get where they’re going if mass transit is decimated.

“It is not going to be pleasant.”