Bourbon 'n BrownTown

Ep. 125 - Funding Public Transit ft. Sadie Soto

Episode Summary

BrownTown shares space with Sadie Soto, consultant, organizer, policy savant, lifelong Chicagoan, and devoted CTA rider. The gang chats about the fall 2025 CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) and RTA (Regional Transportation Authority) budget crisis and the role and responsibility of mass public transit in our lives. As the recent funding crisis put public transit in Chicagoland in the spotlight, the team uses it as a catalyst to unpack the nuts and bolts of what funding public services actually looks like on a municipal, county, and state level; the perceptions and realities of public transit; and the the limited political will and actual possibility of what a fully funded and equitable transportation system could actually look like. Originally recorded October 24, 2025. Updates on the state vote and current state of CTA/RTA below in episodes notes.

Episode Notes

GUEST

Sadie Soto is a lifelong Chicagoan and devoted CTA rider. A former congressional intern, she is deeply familiar with policy at the national level and has also been active locally as an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union. Over the years, she has volunteered for multiple aldermanic campaigns and remains an engaged resident of Jefferson Park, frequently attending her neighborhood chamber of commerce and community meetings. She currently works as an environmental consultant, where she supports community-centered initiatives through outreach coordination, public meeting facilitation, and communications that translate complex policy into accessible stories.

Mentioned in the episode:

Update: Illinois lawmakers pass public transit funding bill to address RTA budget gap (ABC Chicago)
Pre-vote: Budget shortfall could end CTA's 24-hour public service in Chicago (ABC Chicago)
Mayor Johnson's “Safe And Smoke-Free Public Transit” Executive Order
Violent crime on the CTA remains above pre-pandemic levels (Transit Talent)
Red Ahead Program
Why Chicago still hasn't fixed the Loop (The Flying Moose, YouTube)
Why Doesn't the US have better public transportation? (Sustainable America)
Illinois lawmakers propose merging CTA, Metra, Pace (1, 2)

CREDITS: Intro soundbite from Climate and Transit video. Outro music End Of Beginning by Djo. Audio engineered by Kassandra Borah. Production assistance by Jamie Price.