IDOT seeks firms for Northern Illinois Transit Authority transition

CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced that it has issued a formal Request for Proposal for firms to assist with the historic transition to the Northern Illinois Transit Authority. Signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in late 2025, NITA will strengthen and modernize public transit across Illinois by consolidating oversight of CTA, Metra and Pace, while delivering significant investments in public transit, capital projects and tollways across the state.

"Illinoisans deserve a world-class transportation system - one that is reliable, expansive and safe," said Gov. Pritzker. "This represents an important first step in implementing historic transit reforms, and we look forward to seeing NITA come to fruition in service to the people of Illinois."

"Under Gov. Pritzker's leadership, we are proud to take this important step to improving transit in the region and throughout the state," said Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi. "We look forward to working with our transit partners, elected officials, stakeholders and the public to deliver the governor's vision for safe, reliable and efficient transit for all of Illinois." ​ ​ ​ ​

With the release of this RFP, the state of Illinois is implementing the first major step in this historic transit plan. Gov. Pritzker signed the landmark legislation in December, avoiding drastic service cuts and bringing stability and new investment to transit systems throughout Illinois. The bill created $1.5 billion in transit and infrastructure funding annually without any new statewide taxes and helped transition transit riders through significant reforms. The bill also offered targeted support for communities outside Chicago and the suburbs, ensuring that transit systems across the state are stabilized and improved. ​

The selected firm will provide subject matter expertise, guidance and recommendations to help centralize key functions and bring efficiencies to CTA, Metra and Pace as they move under the oversight of NITA. The firm also will advise IDOT on the organizational design of NITA, CTA, Metra and Pace, assist with onboarding of NITA board members, support the search for NITA's executive director and provide an implementation roadmap of the NITA Act. ​

Extensive stakeholder engagement will be required throughout the process. The work will culminate in a report with actionable items to the governor and the General Assembly in 2027. ​

With broader oversight abilities under the new law, NITA promises the public improved service planning, fare collection capabilities, capital programming and operational oversight over a vast transit network that covers 4,700 miles and provides 373 million rides a day. The new law represents the most meaningful reform in decades for the country's third-largest transit system.

In addition to announcing today's RFP, IDOT will continue to implement its other responsibilities for the transition to NITA. This includes establishing two new committees to increase coordination between downstate transit agencies and integrate transit-supportive design into highway project decision-making. IDOT has released a separate RFP for a consultant to provide administrative support to the development of these committees.

For more information on the scope of work and the process to procure a vendor to work with IDOT, visit https://idot.click/bid-buy. The RFP will be open until April 20.

​ ###