Bill Text: IL HB4759 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Green Light for Buses Act. Establishes the Committee on Efficient Arterial Signal Infrastructure to make recommendations to improve public transit efficiency via improvements to traffic signal infrastructure. Publishes a report to the Department of Transportation for inclusion in the Public Transportation Plan. Grants implementing authority. Defines terms. Effective immediately.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2026-04-17 - House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4759 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB4759-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026HB4759 Introduced , by Rep. Theresa Mah SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Green Light for Buses Act. Establishes the Committee on Efficient Arterial Signal Infrastructure to make recommendations to improve public transit efficiency via improvements to traffic signal infrastructure. Publishes a report to the Department of Transportation for inclusion in the Public Transportation Plan. Grants implementing authority. Defines terms. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning transportation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Green
Light for Buses Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Authority" means the Northern Illinois Transit Authority.
"Committee" means the Committee on Efficient Arterial
Signal Infrastructure established under this Act.
"Department" means the Department of Transportation.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Transportation.
"Service Board" means the Board of the Commuter Rail
Division of the Authority, the Board of the Suburban Bus
Division of the Authority, and the Board of the Chicago
Transit Authority established pursuant to the Chicago Transit
Authority Act.
"Traffic capacity" means the designed capacity for traffic
volume on a roadway facility.
"Traffic volume" means the number of persons moved through
a corridor in a given period of time, across all travel modes.
"Transit signal priority" or "TSP" means the operational
strategies and associated equipment, software, communications,
and timing changes that improve the movement of public

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transportation vehicles through signalized intersections.
"Vehicle traffic capacity" means the designed capacity for
vehicle traffic volume on a roadway facility.
"Vehicle traffic volume" means the number of motor
vehicles traveling through a corridor in a given period.
Section 10. Establishment of the Committee.
(a) The Committee on Efficient Arterial Signal
Infrastructure shall be established to advise the Department
on strategies and initiatives to improve public transit
service efficiency and reliability through roadway and
signalization infrastructure improvements in a metropolitan
region.
(b) The Committee shall make recommendations to increase
the traffic capacity of roadway corridors within a
metropolitan region, and that maintain or reduce the vehicle
traffic capacity of those same corridors.
(c) As needed, the Committee shall coordinate with:
(1) the Blue-Ribbon Commission on Transportation
Infrastructure Funding and Policy; and
(2) the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transit
Innovation, Integration, and Reform.
(d) The Committee shall meet at the call of the Chair, but
not less than quarterly.
The Committee shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act
and the Freedom of Information Act.

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(e) The Department shall provide administrative support to
the Committee.
Subject to appropriation and applicable procurement law,
the Department may procure consulting assistance necessary to
support the work of the Committee.
(f) The Committee shall, at a minimum:
(1) inventory and review existing traffic
signalization and central signal system infrastructure,
including compatibility among traffic signal equipment,
transit vehicles, and communications systems used by
public transportation providers in the metropolitan
region;
(2) develop strategies and recommendations to expand
transit signal priority and related transit-supportive
signal operations that increase traffic capacity and
improve transit travel-time reliability;
(3) recommend practices that support coordinated or
regionalized signal operations across jurisdictions and
transit operators, including data standards,
interoperability, and procurement best practices;
(4) develop objectives and recommended approaches for
providing technical assistance to units of local
government and transit operators for implementation of the
Committee's recommendations;
(5) estimate costs associated with procuring,
installing, operating, maintaining, and replacing signal

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priority infrastructure;
(6) estimate economic impacts associated with the
Committee's recommendations;
(7) estimate, where practicable, anticipated changes
in traffic volume and vehicle traffic volume associated
with the Committee's recommendations;
(8) identify opportunities to align or modify existing
and future Department funding programs and grant criteria
to support implementation, including criteria that reward
measurable improvements in traffic volume capacity; and
(9) submit recommendations for inclusion in the
Department's Public Transportation Plan, including any
recommended legislative or administrative changes needed
to implement best practices.
(A) The Committee shall publish a report with its
recommendations no later than 2 years after the
effective date of this Act.
(B) The Department shall post the report on its
website and transmit the report to the Governor and
the General Assembly.
(C) The Department shall incorporate any
recommendations included in the Committee's report in
the Department's next annual update of the Public
Transportation Plan.
(g) The Committee shall include the following members,
appointed by the Secretary:

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(1) the Secretary or the Secretary's designee, who
shall serve as Chair;
(2) the Department's Region 1 Engineer or the
Engineer's designee;
(3) one staff member from the Department's Office of
Finance and Administration whose duties involve transit
grant administration or procurement;
(4) one staff member from the Department's Office of
Highways Project Implementation whose duties involve the
operations of local roads and streets;
(5) one staff member from the Office of Intermodal
Project Implementation whose duties involve transit
oversight;
(6) one staff member from the Office of Highway
Planning and Implementation whose duties include planning
in urban areas;
(7) one staff member representing the Northern
Illinois Transit Authority, as designated by the Chairman
of the Board of the Authority;
(8) one staff member representing the Chicago Transit
Authority, as designated by the Chairman of the Board of
the Chicago Transit Authority;
(9) one staff member representing the Suburban Bus
Division, as designated by the Chairman of the Suburban
Bus Board;
(10) one staff member representing the Chicago

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Metropolitan Agency for Planning;
(11) one staff member representing the Chicago
Department of Transportation, as designated by the Mayor
of Chicago;
(12) one staff member representing the Cook County
Department of Transportation and Highways, as designated
by the President of the Cook County Board of
Commissioners;
(13) one staff member representing the DuPage County
Division of Transportation, as designated by the Chairman
of the DuPage County Board;
(14) at the discretion of their respective County
Board Chairmans, one or more staff members representing
the Counties of Lake, Will, Kane, or McHenry that are
involved in planning, design, construction, maintenance,
and permitted use of roadways; and
(15) additional members as determined necessary by the
Secretary to ensure subject-matter expertise, community
representation, and geographic diversity.
Members shall serve without compensation. To the extent
permitted by law and subject to appropriation, members may be
reimbursed for necessary expenses associated with Committee
service in accordance with applicable State travel rules.
The Chair may dissolve the Committee following the
publication of the report.

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Section 15. Implementation authorization.
(a) Under the supervision of the Secretary, and for the
benefit of a Service Board, the Authority may, by ordinance,
establish and administer a transit signal priority program for
public transportation vehicles in the metropolitan region.
The Authority may provide funding, procure equipment and
services, and enter into intergovernmental agreements or other
agreements necessary to plan, design, implement, operate, and
maintain transit signal priority and signal priority
infrastructure on public ways in the metropolitan region.
Nothing in this Section authorizes the installation,
modification, operation, or maintenance of traffic control
devices except in accordance with the Illinois Vehicle Code,
the Illinois Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and
applicable federal requirements.
Transit signal priority implemented under this Section
shall not impair emergency vehicle signal preemption, railroad
signal preemption, or other safety-critical signal operations
required by law or engineering standards.
For highways and streets under the jurisdiction of the
Department, implementation under this Section is subject to
the Department's approval and permitting requirements.
For highways and streets under the jurisdiction of a unit
of local government, implementation under this Section shall
be carried out pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement with
the unit of local government having maintenance jurisdiction.

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A unit of local government shall not unreasonably withhold
agreement for transit signal priority improvements that are
consistent with this subsection and that are funded in whole
or in part by the Authority or the Department.
(b) For any Department-funded project in the metropolitan
region that includes the installation, modernization,
replacement, or retiming of traffic signals on a roadway that
is served by fixed-route bus service operated by, or under
contract with, a Service Board, the Department shall evaluate
the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of including design
features and equipment accommodations that support transit
signal priority implementation.
Where the Department determines transit signal priority is
feasible, cost-effective, and consistent with applicable
safety and traffic control standards, the Department shall
incorporate transit signal priority accommodations into the
project design.
Nothing in this subsection requires the Department to fund
or install onboard equipment on public transportation
vehicles, or to implement transit signal priority where doing
so would conflict with applicable safety or traffic control
standards.
Section 20. Repeal.
(a) This Act is repealed on the date that is 10 years after
its effective date.

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(b) The repeal of Section 2.06.3 of the Regional
Transportation Authority Act does not affect:
(1) any ordinance adopted, agreement executed, or
procurement commenced under that Section before the repeal
of the Act; or
(2) the continued operation or maintenance of signal
priority infrastructure installed before the repeal of the
Act, to the extent authorized under other applicable law.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.