From pieces of history to articles of pop culture, the assortment of items astronauts have taken with them into space is as varied as the world the artifacts represent.

By Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune Oct. 5--Saying that they are "at the end of our rope," Regional Transportation Authority officials on Thursday acknowledged there was little hope for a proposal to increase the sales tax in the six-county area to pay for mass transit operations and improvements.

By Joseph Ryan jryan@@dailyherald.com The transit system's chairman could have his pay doubled thanks to a provision tucked into a massive tax hike measure aimed at saving the region's train and bus system.

By Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune Jun. 29--Regional transportation officials Thursday took another step toward imposing a doomsday scenario of fare hikes and service cuts while still holding out hope that legislators in Springfield would address the transit funding crisis this summer.

By Joseph Ryan jryan@@dailyherald.com A legislative move to bail out the CTA could end up pushing Pace and Metra further toward fare hikes and service cuts, transit leaders warned Tuesday. After months of silence on transit funding amid shutdown threats, Gov.