Chicago Transit Authority lawsuit targets federal construction funding halted last fall

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Transit Authority on Friday filed a federal lawsuit seeking restoration of $2 billion in commuter rail expansion funding that President Donald Trump’s administration stopped last fall.

The action, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, contends the administration acted arbitrarily in halting transit construction money for the city in an effort to restrict race- and gender-based contracting, which it believes is unconstitutional. It names the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transportation Authority as defendants.

The Transportation Department responded that it is trying to choke off a “discriminatory” and “illegal” contracting process.

The lawsuit comes days after New York City authorities filed a lawsuit seeking resumption of similar federal transit funding to the tune of $60 million.

Critically affected in Chicago is a 5.3-mile (8.5 kilometer) extension of the Red Line of the elevated L rail system with four train stops to reach 100,000 additional residents in disadvantaged and largely Black neighborhoods. Additionally, the federal dollars had been financing continued work on a North Side project that replaced century-old rails and built four new, accessible stations.

“We are fully committed to the success of these projects, and we will take every step necessary to ensure that they move forward,” CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen said in a statement. “The Red Line extension is a historic investment into the far South Side of Chicago that will transform public transit and create new economic opportunity for the communities it will serve.”

In September, the Trump administration wrote a new rule removing race- and gender-based contracting preferences but applied the rule retroactively only to grants to Chicago and New York, according to the lawsuit. The grant funding was paused on Oct. 3, 2025, and the CTA provided requested documentation a few weeks later.

The Transportation Department requested additional records in December, and since the CTA responded, there has been no further communication, according to the lawsuit, which calls the government’s actions “unlawful many times over.”

It complains that the holdup penalizes the CTA for following the rules in place at the time and for failing to “explain why grants to the hundreds of other projects nationwide” that were following the same rules saw no interruption in funding.

The Transportation Department said in an email that it will fight “discriminatory, illegal, and wasteful contracting practices.”

“The American people don’t care what race or gender construction workers, pipefitters, or electricians are,” the department said. “They just want these important projects built quickly and efficiently.”