The CTA el station at Central Avenue on the Blue Line has been abandoned since 1973. But that will soon change as a measure tucked into the state transit reform bill passed last fall requires the transit agency to bring it back to active use.
The 1,043-page bill mostly deals with increasing transit funding, transit agency governance overhaul and public safety improvements. But it also includes several provisions that deal with specific transit lines and stations.
In Austin, it requires the CTA to either build, rebuild or rehab an el station on the Blue Line at Central Avenue. It also appears to require the reopening of the Lavergne Avenue entrance at the Blue Line’s Cicero station further west. The bill requires both projects to be “completed and open for public operation no later than January 1, 2029.”
State Rep. Camille Lilly (D-78th) told Austin Weekly News that, as the transit bill was being developed, a group of legislators got together and agreed on a list of projects they believed would benefit neighborhoods and suburbs that haven’t seen much investment. Lilly said that the Central Avenue station would improve transit access and create opportunities for West Siders.
The shuttered station is within walking distance of Loretto Hospital, Columbus Park and industrial businesses on the south side of the expressway. The Laverne Avenue entrance is closer to Michele Clark Magnet High School and Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development (BUILD) Chicago headquarters than the Cicero entrance.
Lilly, in addition to being a state representative, is a long-time employee of Loretto Hospital.
The Central station opened on Oct. 10, 1960 west of the Central Avenue underpass, near the spot where el tracks leave the Eisenhower Expressway median and run south of the traffic lanes. Unlike most Blue Line Forest Park branch stations, it’s located above ground, not in the trench below grade.
The Central station closed on Sept. 2, 1973 as part of the series of service cuts that mostly affected stations on the South and West Sides. The closure of the Blue Line’s California and Kostner stations in North Lawndale were part of the same wave.
Since then, the stairs leading up to the platform have been bricked off, and the platform and canopy have been left to decay. Today, the closest Blue Line station to Central Avenue is the Austin station at the Austin/Oak Park border.
Like many other Blue Line el stations on the Forest Park branch, the Cicero station was originally built with two entrances – in this case, one at Cicero Avenue and one at Lavergne Avenue. But the latter entrance was severely damaged in a Sept. 4, 1972 fire. CTA made it exit-only on Jan. 12, 1973, and closed it completely on May 16, 1977. While the ramp and the entrance are still there, they have been sealed off, and most glass panels on the ramp are missing.
In an interview last month, Lilly told Austin Weekly News that, in the run-up to the fall veto session, she, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-39th) and some other state representatives and state senators met to discuss the funding priorities. What they soon agreed on, she said, was that they wanted to do something to address transit disparities in the city and the suburbs that have been happening for decades.
“Public transportation is important, especially to the West Side, and also on the South Side, in the vulnerable communities,” Lilly said. “We were on the same page when it came to reopening the [Central] el stop.”
While the Central el station isn’t in Lilly’s district, she serves as Loretto Hospital’s chief external affairs officer.
During the veto session, the transit bill went through several amendments. The Oct. 28, 2025 version of the bill called for the CTA to “remodel, renovate, or construct a new station at or near the Cicero/Laramie location on the Blue Line.” The Oct. 30 version of the bill revised that paragraph to state that the CTA “shall remodel, renovate, or construct a new station at or near the Central station and the western entrance at Leclaire Avenue location on the Blue Line. The renovated or newly constructed station shall be completed and open for public operation no later than January 1, 2029.” That language remained in the final version of the bill.
While the reference to the Central el station is clear-cut, Leclaire Avenue doesn’t cross the Eisenhower Expressway. North Leclare Avenue stops at Madison Street, and South Leclair Avenue starts at 44th Street. Even if LeClaire Avenue would go past Madison Street in a straight line, it would be east of Central Avenue, not west. But the Lavergne Avenue entrance, which was the Cicero station’s west entrance, would fit the bill.
Lilly acknowledged to Austin Weekly News that, in the rush to adopt the transit bill, some errors may have cropped up. She said she expected the legislators to go back and clean up the language in January.
CTA did not respond to the request for comment by deadline. Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), whose ward includes both Central and Cicero stations, said that he supports the Central station’s reopening, but didn’t elaborate further.
Lilly said she was “excited” to see the station reopen.
“This is going to be a significant opportunity for our community,” she said.
