Marni Pyke

Atakora Department

Transportation Writer at Daily Herald

Transportation writer, BNSF frequenter and veteran commuter of I-355, I-90, I-290, I-88, Lake Shore Drive, Dan Ryan. [email protected]

Featured in: Favicon

dailyherald.com Favicon

usnews.com Favicon

suntimes.com Favicon

charlotteobserver.com Favicon

kansascity.com Favicon

kentucky.com Favicon

sacbee.com Favicon

newsobserver.com Favicon

thestate.com Favicon

fresnobee.com + 56 more

Articles

‘I stared down the barrel of a gun’: Lawmakers focus on transit safety at hearing

1 day ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

CTA, Metra and Pace are under the legislative microscope as lawmakers contemplate reforms. Safety was a key issue Tuesday during a state hearing. As CTA workers described harrowing violence on buses and trains, city and suburban lawmakers pledged to help make the transit system safer during a Tuesday state hearing in Springfield.
Interim head of Chicago airports no stranger to O’Hare, Midway

2 days ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

Chicago Department of Aviation Acting Commissioner Tracey Payne Courtesy Chicago Department of Aviation The Chicago Department of Aviation’s temporary chief is an attorney versed in both O’Hare and Midway international airports. Acting CDA Commissioner Tracey Payne replaces Jamie Rhee, the former head of the agency who retired April 15 after serving for nearly seven years.
Local road work navigator

3 days ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

Construction season is in full swing across the region. Here are some key projects to know about. Cook County • Patching pavement on Lake-Cook Road between: Route 53 and Arlington Heights Road; Hastings Drive and Milwaukee Avenue; and at Wilmot Road in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Palatine and Wheeling. • Resurfacing on Shoe Factory Road between Beverly and Higgins roads in Hoffman Estates, South Barrington and Streamwood.
The Tri-State, Route 53, the Kennedy, oh my - What to expect on this year’s road construction menu

3 days ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

The Illinois tollway’s I-294 widening and rebuild, shown south of Ogden Avenue near Hinsdale, is a major focus in the 2025 construction season. Brian Hill/[email protected] Take a deep breath and repeat, “it’s the last year of Kennedy construction!” Sadly, that won’t help drivers on the Central Tri-State, where widening and repaving grinds on, or new corridors where projects are Whac-A-Moling.
‘Nobody asked questions’: Metra broadens human trafficking prevention campaign

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

Metra is elevating efforts to prevent human trafficking involving transit. Efforts include posters and training train crews to detect the signs. Daily Herald File Photo In 2019, Metra started a poster campaign on trains to reach out and offer help to young sex trafficking victims. Six years later, the railroad is expanding those efforts to prevent human trafficking.
Chicago’s O’Hare is second busiest in the world for flights, No. 8 in passengers

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

O’Hare International Airport traffic placed second in the world for flights in 2024, marking a 7.7% growth spurt from 2023, officials reported. Rival Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport came first, with 796,224 flights compared to 776,036 at O’Hare, the Chicago Department of Aviation and Airports Council International announced. The Chicago Department of Aviation said O’Hare was the second-busiest airport in the world for aircraft operations in 2024.
‘Tariffs are on, tariffs are off’: Pritzker dives into trade, transit and why suburbs went blue

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was in Lombard on Monday to discuss the success of DuPage County Democrats in the April 1 local elections. Pritzker also touched upon tariffs, transit and whether he’ll testify on Capitol Hill. John Starks/[email protected] Gov. JB Pritzker talked about tariffs, trade and the transit funding crisis while visiting Lombard Monday but didn’t reveal if he’ll testify before Congress on state immigration policies.
New Aurora DMV+ opens as looming REAL ID deadline causes surge in demand

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

With the deadline for domestic flyers to have REAL ID just weeks away, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias encouraged travelers Monday to “make sure you really need one.” Travelers with a passport can also board U.S. flights on May 7 when the new requirement goes live, he noted at the opening of a new DMV+ in Aurora. “Also, we’re not stopping the issuance of REAL IDs on May 7, it will go on in summer, fall, forever,” Giannoulias said.
Will Senate act on bill that raises senior road test age, allows relatives to report unsafe drivers?

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

Signs for road testing stand outside the Illinois secretary of state facility in Addison. Legislation to raise the age for senior driving tests passed the state House last week but is awaiting a vote in the Senate. Joe Lewnard/[email protected] Illinois House members last week unanimously passed a major change to rules on behind-the-wheel road tests for older drivers but the bill still lingers in the Senate.
Will Pritzker go to D.C. to testify on immigration? Expect fireworks, if so

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Marni Pyke

It’s unknown yet if Gov. JB Pritzker will appear before the U.S. House Oversight Committee regarding the state’s policies on immigration in May. But with Republican Chairman James Comer criticizing Illinois’ “reckless sanctuary policies” and Pritzker saying President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan “is all about chaos and confusion,” there’s no doubt fireworks will ensue if the two converge in Washington. Illinois Gov.