A federal judge ordered on Mar. 24 that the administration of President Donald Trump must release $3.1 billion in funding for two major Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) projects, according to multiple news reports.
The decision affects the Red Line Extension and the Red and Purple Modernization projects, both considered vital infrastructure improvements for Chicago’s transit system. The ruling comes after a lawsuit filed by the CTA against the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration, following a pause in federal funding last October due to concerns about “race-based contracting.”
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin granted a temporary restraining order against the transportation department, as first reported by the Sun-Times and confirmed by other outlets. Acting CTA president Nora Leerhsen called Durkin’s decision “a major victory” in completing the Red Line Extension project. “CTA promised the community that it would fight for [the Red Line Extension], and this ruling is a massive step toward restoration of funding for this historic project,” Leerhsen said in a statement to Block Club Tuesday.
The dispute began when an interim final rule from federal authorities barred race- and sex-based contracting requirements from grants, putting both projects under administrative review. The CTA responded with more than 1,000 pages of documentation but had not received further communication since December before filing its complaint.
The planned Red Line Extension would add new stations at several South Side locations between 95th Street and 130th Street, while work continues on modernizing stations on Chicago’s Far North Side as part of another large-scale upgrade.
Former President Joe Biden had committed nearly $2 billion in grant funding for these efforts during his presidency, with city officials previously expressing confidence that those commitments would be honored despite changes in administration leadership.
Mayor Brandon Johnson criticized what he described as punitive actions from President Trump’s administration regarding local infrastructure resources but welcomed Tuesday’s court order: “Today’s ruling is a victory not just for Chicago, but for every local government across our country who has been caught in the crosshairs of Trump’s punitive attempts to take resources away from working families and punish communities who did not vote for him,” Johnson said.
