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Archive for the ‘METRA’ Category

Victim left seriously injured after being punched in head by suspect at Metra station in Barrington

Posted in Crime, Lake & McHenry County Scanner, METRA, Public Safety on July 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Timothy A. Kirschner, 60, of Arlington Heights, (inset) is being held in custody after being charged with attacking another man by punching him in the head, causing serious injury, at the Metra station, 201 South Spring Street in Barrington, Saturday evening. | Background Photo: Google Street View; Inset: Provided

By Sam Borcia | Lake & McHenry County Scanner

A victim was hospitalized with serious injuries after police say a man punched him in the face at the Metra station in Barrington Saturday evening.

The Barrington Police Department and Barrington Fire Department responded around 8 p.m. Saturday to a report of a battery at the Metra station, 201 South Spring Street in Barrington.

Barrington Police Chief David Daigle said officers arrived and found an injured 42-year-old man.

Daigle said the victim reported he was punched in the face at the train station by a suspect, identified as Timothy A. Kirschner, 60, of Arlington Heights.

Four subjects, believed to be homeless, were hanging out at the station and talking.

The victim said something that offended Kirschner, who then attacked him, Daigle said.

The victim was transported to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington where he was diagnosed with serious injuries, including head trauma.

Report continues here.

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Temporary Public Parking Lot Closures at Barrington Metra Station

Posted in METRA, Traffic on July 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Temporary Public Parking Lot Closures Begin Sunday Night at Barrington Metra Station

Please be advised that contractors will be conducting routine maintenance to restripe four Village-owned parking lots in the Barrington Metra Station beginning Monday, July 20. The impacted parking lots and schedule are indicated on the maps below. Work is anticipated to take place Monday, July 20, through Wednesday, July 22, weather permitting. Closures will rotate, and on-site signage will indicate which lot(s) will be closed each day, while the others remain open for parking. The first non-primary parking lot shown in blue will close at midnight on Sunday evening (July 19). Lots will reopen each day as soon as the work is complete.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as this work is completed!

Source

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Metra suspends UPNW service July 19 for track work near Des Plaines

Posted in METRA, Traffic, Uncategorized on July 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“Metra will suspend all train service on the UP Northwest Line on Sunday, July 19 due to construction by CN at a crossing in Des Plaines.

The CN will be replacing the diamonds (the sections of track where two rail lines intersect) at the Deval interlocking, a crossing with Union Pacific tracks about half a mile north of Metra’s Des Plaines Station. During the outage, all three tracks used by the UP Northwest Line will be out of service, and no Metra service will operate on the line.

The last outbound UP Northwest Line train will be the 12:30 a.m. departure from Chicago early Sunday, July 19. The last inbound to Chicago will depart Harvard at 9:35 p.m. Saturday night, July 18. Metra expects service to be fully restored in time for the Monday morning rush on July 20, although passengers may experience slight delays passing through the construction zone due to temporary speed restrictions.

During the outage, customers are advised to seek alternate transportation including Metra’s Milwaukee District North Line; CTA Blue Line service at Jefferson Park and Irving Park stations; Pace Pulse Dempster service at Des Plaines station providing connections to CTA Yellow and Purple Line service; and CTA and Pace local bus service at Cumberland, Des Plaines, Park Ridge, Edison Park, Norwood Park, Jefferson Park, Irving Park, and Clybourn stations.”

Para versión en español, haga clic aquí

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Barrington asks for ICC to extend deadline related to railroad crossing pedestrian safety gates

Posted in Daily Herald, METRA, Public Safety, School Districts, TRAC on June 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

More than two years since the death of Barrington High School student Marin Lacson, Barrington community members are still waiting for pedestrian safety gates at the Hough Street crossing where she was killed.

Barrington officials, however, insist the project is proceeding, even though the village has filed for a six-month extension of its interim order with the Illinois Commerce Commission, which is hearing the petition of the village and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“I would say that we see continuous movement, at all of our status hearings,” Deputy Village Manager Marie Hansen said. “Whether or not that movement is as much as we would like.”

But she added the village does not control the review and approval process.

The request to extend the June 18 deadline to Dec. 18, officials said, is to make sure the village remains eligible to receive reimbursement from the state for engineering and design work at the Union Pacific crossings receiving the gates — Hough Street, Main Street, Cook Street and Hillside Avenue.

Village officials say they have spent their own funds to help move the project forward.

Report continues here.

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Driver cited after causing crash with box truck that sent SUV into railroad crossing gate in Barrington

Posted in Lake & McHenry County Scanner, METRA on March 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

A driver was cited after an SUV and a box truck collided, sending one vehicle into a railroad crossing gate along the Metra Union Pacific Northwest line at Main Street and Cook Street in Barrington Monday afternoon. | Photo: Omar El Plebe

By Sam Borcia | Lake & McHenry County Scanner

A driver was cited after crashing into a truck and then colliding into a railroad crossing gate, causing Metra train traffic to be temporarily halted, in Barrington, police said.

The Barrington Police Department responded around 12 p.m. Monday to the intersection of Main Street and Cook Street in Barrington for a vehicle crash.

Officers arrived and found a two-vehicle crash in the intersection, with one car into a railroad crossing gate.

A driver was cited after an SUV and a box truck collided, sending one vehicle into a railroad crossing gate along the Metra Union Pacific Northwest line at Main Street and Cook Street in Barrington Monday afternoon. | Photo: Omar El Plebe

The Metra Police Department was notified and also responded to the scene due to the train equipment being involved.

The incident happened just northwest of the Barrington Metra station along the Union Pacific Northwest line.

Barrington Deputy Police Chief Lori Allsteadt said the crash involved a BMW X5 SUV and a Freightliner M2 truck.

A driver was cited after an SUV and a box truck collided, sending one vehicle into a railroad crossing gate along the Metra Union Pacific Northwest line at Main Street and Cook Street in Barrington Monday afternoon. | Photo: Omar El Plebe

An investigation showed the BMW was traveling southbound on Cook Street attempting to cross Main Street to continue south.

The Freightliner, driven by a 39-year-old Chicago man, was traveling eastbound on Main Street from Hough Street when it collided with the BMW, Allsteadt said.

The BMW, driven by a 65-year-old Chicago man, then continued after the impact and struck the railroad gate pole.

A driver was cited after an SUV and a box truck collided, sending one vehicle into a railroad crossing gate along the Metra Union Pacific Northwest line at Main Street and Cook Street in Barrington Monday afternoon. | Photo: Omar El Plebe

Article continues here.

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Barrington Golden Triangle developers: Multifamily development can handle traffic

Posted in 220, Daily Herald, EJ&E/Canadian National, Land Use, METRA, Real Estate, School Districts, Transparency, U.S. Route 14 Underpass on March 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Rendering of The Residences at Liberty Commons | Courtesy of the Barrington Development Co.

By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

Developers aiming to build a $100 million residential complex at Barrington’s Golden Triangle addressed village trustees’ concerns about traffic, while also emphasizing the need to fast-track the project.

The proposal for The Residences at Liberty Commons calls for 16 studio apartments, 119 one-bedroom, 66 two-bedroom, six three-bedroom and 16 townhouses (223 units).

Michael Fleck and Nick Marrocco of the Barrington Development Co. told trustees Monday they will have their traffic consultant, KLOA, conduct a full traffic study of the area, which is already clogged with traffic.

“I think our interests are definitely aligned here,” Fleck said. “We want to make sure that the development is good for Barrington, good for the residents and no further burden.”

Fleck said the overall conclusion of an initial study is the development, bounded by Liberty, Hough and the railroad tracks, will have a modest effect on the surrounding street network.

Fleck noted the development’s location is less than a half-mile from the Barrington Metra station.

Article continues here.

Related: “New residential development floated for Barrington’s Golden Triangle”

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Transit sales tax hike makes suburbs pay for Chicago problems

Posted in Illinois Policy Institute, METRA, Overhead, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Traffic, Unions on December 11, 2025| 1 Comment »

Chicago-area transit riders deserve safe, reliable service. But the Regional Transportation Authority board might soon ask the wrong people to pay for it.

By Dylan Sharkey | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinoisans shouldn’t be taxed for a service they can’t use, but the Regional Transportation Authority board is expected to vote on doing just that: imposing a regionwide sales-tax increase.

The board will meet Dec. 18 to adopt its 2026 budget, which relies on raising the RTA sales tax by 0.25 percentage point across Cook County and the collar counties. Pritzker is expected before 2026 to sign the bill authorizing the tax, which would take effect July 1 and then need final transit board approval within 60 days.

Supporters argue it’s needed to avoid looming service cuts and big fare hikes tied to transit’s “fiscal cliff.” But the tax collects money from suburban shoppers with sparse transit options and sends it to the urban areas where agencies have made poor decisions and failed to enact needed change. It also lets leaders ignore existing funds already taken from taxpayers.

What is the RTA sales tax?

To fund CTA, Metra and Pace, residents in areas served by mass transit currently pay:

  • 1% sales tax on general merchandise in Cook County.
  • 1.25% sales tax on qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances in Cook County.
  • 0.75% sales tax on general merchandise and qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.

If Pritzker and the RTA board approve, the 0.25% will be added to all three existing sales taxes to generate $478 million leaders claim is needed to avoid transit’s fiscal cliff. That fiscal cliff is mostly a Chicago Transit Authority problem: Metra and Pace serve the suburbs and have challenges of their own, but the CTA dominates the RTA’s budget.

Penalizing people who don’t use CTA is a problem when it takes the biggest share of the budget. Part of the funding solution is using money from the state’s road fund, which has more than $3 billion taxpayers have already contributed. The state should spend what it already has before taking more.

Read more here.

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Metra holiday train tickets go on sale

Posted in Chicago Sun*Times, Entertainment, METRA on November 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Courtesy of Metra

By Sun-Times Wire

Metra’s holiday train tickets went on sale Monday.

Tickets for the decorated trains — which feature holiday characters and treats — cost $10 each and must be purchased in advance on Metra’s website.

The trains are scheduled to run throughout the day along five Metra lines on:

On the Metra Electric Line, the tickets also include a visit to the “North Pole winter wonderland” at Millennium Station.

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DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and toll road hikes: $1.5 billion in potential taxes explained

Posted in Cost of Living, Economy, Entertainment, Illinois Policy Institute, METRA, Taxes, Unions on October 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Prices for DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and Illinois tolls might go up now to cover $1.5 billion for Illinois transit agencies. A real estate transfer tax for homes in the Chicago suburbs is also on the table.

By Ravi Mishra | Illinois Policy Institute

New tax and fee hike proposals on DoorDash, Uber, Ticketmaster and toll roads could hit Illinoisans to cover shortfalls in the Regional Transit Authority budget. The RTA, which oversees the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace, faces a looming budget crisis as federal pandemic funds run dry.

Revenue options include:

  • A $1 delivery charge for delivery orders over $100, excluding pharmaceuticals and groceries to fund public transit. Revenue estimate: $102 million
  • A 25-cent increase in CTA fares. Revenue estimate: $76 million to $78 million if 2025 CTA fare trends hold steady.
  • A 10% tax on all rideshare trips in the RTA region (Cook and collar counties) to fund public transit. Revenue estimate: $132 million to $291 million
  • A ticket price surcharge of $5-10 would be added to tickets at venues that contain more than 10,000 people. Revenue estimate: $150 million to $250 million
  • A 25% surcharge on tolls, charged once per day, which would increase the average cost of tolls by $0.60 to fund public transit. Revenue estimate: $438.5 million
  • A $1 surcharge on all tolls. Revenue estimate: $1 billion
  • A fee of $0.03 per kw/h tax on electric vehicle charging at public chargers to fund public transit. Revenue estimate: $3.2 million to $14.2 million with increased adoption of electric vehicles
  • An extension of the Chicago Real Estate Transfer Tax to the collar counties, which taxes $1.50 for every $500 during the transfer of a property to fund public transit. Collar County dollars would be used for Metra and Pace transit needs, not for the CTA. Revenue estimate: $82 million
  • A one-time transfer of funds from the Illinois Road Fund to fund public transit.

The Regional Transit Authority has already seen dramatic growth in its budget even as ridership remains well below pre-pandemic levels. Spending was boosted by billions in emergency COVID funds, but with that money gone, the system is facing a $230 million fiscal gap next year.

Read more here.

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Barrington approves redevelopment agreement on Golden Triangle

Posted in 220, BACOG, Daily Herald, District 220 referendum, EJ&E/Canadian National, METRA, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on April 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

After nearly a year of negotiation with Compasspoint Development, Barrington approved a redevelopment agreement for the “Golden Triangle” (top of photo) worth $17 million ready for village board approval. | Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com

By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

Barrington trustees Monday put the final touches on a redevelopment agreement for a mixed-use project on Hough Street between the Union Pacific and Canadian National Railway tracks.

The location is officially known as Redevelopment Area #1, but is also dubbed the Golden Triangle.

Joe Taylor III of Compasspoint Development plans to redevelop the former site of the Market Center building and a Volvo dealership at on North Hough Street. The $90 million project includes a four-story building, the Mylo, with 125 residential units and approximately 12,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space — Taylor said he is negotiating a high-end restaurant lease for 6,000 square feet.

It will also include the MotorCave Auto Suites, a place for car enthusiasts to keep and display their vehicles.

Read more here.

Related: “Barrington close to decision on $17 million incentive agreement for ‘Golden Triangle’ development,” “‘Now is the time to be in Barrington’: village serves up positive economic outlook,” “Barrington approves TIF for the ‘Golden Triangle’,” “Barrington moves closer to TIF for ‘Golden Triangle’,” “MotorCave Suites: For-sale personal auto museum showrooms and entertainment Spaces for Chicago area collectors,” “Barrington village manager gets 12.5% pay hike,” “Barrington-area leaders tout growth at annual economic summit,” “Barrington pins high hopes on Golden Triangle development,” “Luxury apartments, restaurants. What Barrington might do with its ‘Golden Triangle’,” “Apartments, storage for high-end cars proposed for downtown Barrington”

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