West Side riders counting on a long-promised Blue Line revival are in for a longer wait. A new state “trailer” bill quietly reset the clock on rebuilding the long-abandoned Central Avenue station and reopening the Lavergne Avenue entrance at Cicero, giving transit officials until January 1, 2031, to finish the work. The delay frustrates advocates who wanted a faster turnaround for a pair of projects they say could transform access to neighborhood anchors like Loretto Hospital and Michele Clark Magnet High School.
What the law requires
The enrolled text of HB2335 directs the regional transit authority to “remodel, renovate, or construct a new station at or near the Central Station and the western entrance at the Lavergne Avenue location on the Blue Line,” and it sets January 1, 2031, as the date by which that work must be complete. The mandate is tucked into a broader transit package that also lists other station and terminal requirements. The specific language and deadline are laid out in the bill’s enrolled text on the Illinois General Assembly website, posted with the final bill files. Illinois General Assembly.
Local reaction and who pushed for it
State Rep. Camille Lilly, a longtime Loretto Hospital staffer who helped advocate for West Side projects during the bill’s drafting, told Austin Weekly News she was “excited” about the reopening and framed the work as a major opportunity for the neighborhood. The outlet reports that the trailer bill also cleaned up drafting errors from the fall package while resetting several timelines, and that CTA did not respond to a request for comment by the paper’s deadline. Austin Weekly News.
How the deadline shifted
HB2335 was introduced as a trailer bill to the fall 2025 transit reform package and cleared the Legislature in late May, with the Senate taking final action on May 29 and the House concurring on May 31, 2026. The trailer measure makes a series of technical and timing fixes to the original public-act language and adds implementation details, including the revised Central/Lavergne timetable and other procurement provisions. Policy summaries published after the session describe the bill as the technical follow-up to the 2025 transit overhaul. Third Reading Consulting Group.
Station history and why the language mattered
The Central Avenue stop has been closed since the early 1970s. Both the Blue Line’s Central station and the Cicero station’s Lavergne Avenue entrance were taken out of regular service in that era and have sat sealed for decades. Reopening the site is pitched as an equity investment for the West Side because it would shorten walks to Columbus Park and other neighborhood anchors. Reporters and transit analysts previously flagged that an earlier version of the law used a puzzling “Leclaire” reference, which pushed lawmakers and advocates to insist on language that clearly targets the Lavergne entrance. Streetsblog Chicago.
Legal and implementation notes
The trailer bill does more than scribble in new dates. It also reshapes governance, funding, and procurement rules that will determine how quickly projects move from design to actual construction. Among other items, the measure adds responsible-bidder requirements, sets new procurement timetables, and spells out mechanics for regional fare-collection work that intersect with the Northern Illinois Transit Authority reforms enacted last year. Those funding and procurement shifts are intended to speed up delivery but could also move responsibility among the new regional authority and the service boards. MuniIntel.
What happens next
With the enrolled bill language now public, the burden shifts to the service board and implementing authority to scope design work, secure permits, and run competitive procurement while meeting Americans With Disabilities Act standards and other code requirements. Even with a statutory deadline on the books, officials and contractors will have to fast-track environmental reviews, community engagement, and bidding to hit 2031, assuming funding and staffing stay on track. Local leaders say they will be watching contracting plans closely and pushing for community benefits as the work moves forward. NWMC.
The state has planted a flag on the calendar; now design, permitting, procurement, and construction will decide whether the Blue Line’s Central stop actually comes back to life within the next five years. We’ll track major milestones and report when CTA or the regional authority releases a project timeline or breaks ground.
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