Transit: funded π°
Parking Mandates: eliminated π
Itβs official! This week, Governor Pritzker signed the NITA Act, which invests $1.5 billion into Illinois transit and provides Chicagoland with a central agency to plan, fund, and deliver a world-class transit system. π π π
The final bill also contains the People Over Parking Act, a provision that Abundant Housing Illinois and YIMBY Law helped draft. This reform eliminates parking mandates near major transit hubs, removing a long-standing barrier to transit-oriented development. π
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By eliminating parking mandates near pubic transit statewide, Illinois is now a nationwide leader in parking reform. Under the new law, parking mandates no longer apply:
π Within 1/2 mile of rail stations and major bus hubs
π Within 1/8 mile of bus corridors
While this provision flew under the radar, it represents our biggest advocacy win yet. Based on our estimates, parking mandates are now eliminated across 96% of Chicago, with substantial coverage extending into the suburbs as well.
Statewide reform gets the goods, y'all. Let's do ADUs next? πͺ
Read Steven's blog post about the transit billExplore the People Over Parking Act map
Announcing our first 2026 endorsement!
To borrow everyone's favorite word on LinkedIn, we are thrilled to announce our endorsement of Drake Warren for District 10, Cook County Board of Commissioners! Drake understands that tackling our housing shortage is essential for reducing poverty and improving quality of life for Cook County residents. He also recognizes the unique and powerful ways in which the Cook County Board can create policies that support housing abundance and reduce residents' property tax burden, including streamlining development of properties in unincorporated areas and in the Cook County Land Bank Authority's inventory, and increasing the assessment level for vacant land.
AHIL members: keep an eye out for an endorsements voting link in your email in early January. This will allow you to review our endorsements team's recommendations and vote for your preferred candidates as advice for AHIL's endorsements!
Holiday party recap
At this week's urbanist holiday party, co-sponsored by five Chicago organizations focused on housing, climate, and transportation, we celebrated our collective wins in 2025. Over 150 attendees (including three alders!) celebrated with us over food and drink at Haymarket Brewing.
Happy Holidays, and here's to even bigger wins in 2026!