Congress yesterday passed President Obama's controversial new stimulus package and in the process, the House tacked on an extra $3 billion for transit funds to the package ($12 billion for transit funding overall), bringing the total value of the package to around $825 billion. $1.5 billion of that extra money goes straight to the states. It seems the state of Illinois is in line to receive a fair chunk of that change: $105 million. Of that money, the Chicago area will see about $76 million and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Chicago), one of the co-sponsors, is claiming victory. more ›