‘Unconstitutional’: Congressmen, Pritzker call out White House freeze on CTA projects

The Trump administration has frozen funds for a Red Line extension and other major Chicago Transit Authority projects.

White House budget director Russell Vought said on social media that “$2.1 billion in Chicago infrastructure projects — specifically the Red Line Extension and the Red and Purple Modernization Project — have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.”

The move comes amid a government shutdown with Republicans and Democrats divided over a resolution.

Democrats Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Mike Quigley, and Chicago Mayor Brandon pushed back on the action Friday.

Schakowsky of Evanston said the White House has no authority to stall funding approved by Congress.

“This unconstitutional action is more proof that Donald Trump and Republicans are more interested in petty political retribution than lowering health care costs for Americans,” she said.

Quigley called it “a very bad day for public transit in the country when it becomes weaponized.”

“This was our prized baby and they know it,” Quigley said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “This was the most important new transit project in Chicago in 50 years.”

The $5.7 million Red Line extension is set to break ground in 2026 and will extend the route 5.5 miles from 95th Street to 130th Street with four new stations to be built.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed to fight the delay and said in a statement that “South Siders have waited for more than 50 years for the Red Line Extension. This project will bring 25,000 jobs to the Chicago area and billions in new development.

“Right when we are finally on the brink of moving forward, Trump just cut off the funding. From public safety to public education to public transit, this president is cutting the services that working people rely upon,” Johnson said.

The Red and Purple Modernization Project’s first phase includes a new bypass near the Belmont station, plus rebuilding the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr stops, and installing a modernized signal system between Howard and Belmont.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said the CTA projects were “under administrative review to determine whether any unconstitutional practices are occurring.”

“Illinois, like New York, is well known to promote race- and sex-based contracting and other racial preferences as a public policy,” the DOT said. “Together, these critical reviews are intended to ensure no additional federal dollars go toward discriminatory, illegal, and wasteful contracting practices.”

For years and under both Democrat and Republican administrations, the CTA has operated a “Disadvantaged Business Enterprise” program intended to level the playing field for small businesses with minority owners competing for contracts.

Schakowsky said the president “is supposed to serve all Americans, but it is clear that Trump is either unwilling or unable to do so. This is money that has been appropriated by the United States Congress. The executive branch has no authority to intervene.”

Acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen said Friday she could not comment on the issue yet.

Earlier this week, the government also paused funding for subway and Hudson Tunnel projects in New York.

DOT officials blamed Democrats for the shutdown and potential delays in reviewing the CTA projects.

Pritzker said “using transportation funding to score political points doesn’t just hurt the hardworking people who rely on public transit to get to work or school — it weakens our economy, drives away investment, and makes it harder for businesses to thrive.”

Rogers Jones, the director of a violence prevention youth center next to the planned Roseland Red Line station, called the delay a severe blow to some of the region’s most disadvantaged areas.

“I just don’t understand the Trump administration, bringing harm like that. It’s devastating when people are expecting something good coming and it does not come,” Jones said.

• Daily Herald Wire Services contributed to this report.