In 2007 the Chicago Transit Authority threatened to cut nearly 40 bus routes and increase rider fares on buses and trains without a bail out from the State of Illinois. If these cuts would have gone into effect, many Northeastern Illinois students would have had to discontinue their higher educations. Students depend heavily on the transit system so the Student Government at NEIU wanted to lobby politicians in Springfield to increase this essential funding.
The idea behind this postcard was to show how interconnected buses and trains are with the major colleges and universities in the region. I roughly traced real routes using Transit Authority maps and color-coded them based on real routes. There is a generic message on the back (see Alternative Views) for students to address, sign and then send.
Over 1,000 NEIU students sent postcards. There was some talk about getting students from other campuses involved too, however funding was approved before that was ever organized.