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Acting CTA president outlines 100-day priorities: safety, frequency and partnerships
Summary
At a May 14 board meeting, CTA's acting president marked 100 days in charge and outlined four priorities—people, performance, places and partnerships—emphasizing safety initiatives, legislative outreach in Springfield for funding, hiring progress, and monitoring of a new frequent-bus network.
Acting President (name spoken in the meeting) used a 100-day update at the May 14 Chicago Transit Board meeting to lay out four organizing priorities—people-driven, performance-focused, welcoming places and partnerships—and to detail immediate actions on safety, legislative advocacy and service improvements.
He opened by acknowledging recent incidents in which people entered the right-of-way and died, and said CTA conducts thorough reviews of each event; he also emphasized support for employees through an employee assistance program and updated mental-health training for managers under a program he described as CTA Cares.
On the legislative front, the acting president said he has been in Springfield advocating for funding to sustain and expand service and described work to explain to lawmakers how additional funds would translate into more frequency and system improvements. He identified key priorities if CTA obtained a multibillion-dollar regional funding package: expansion of the frequent-bus network to 25 additional routes, improved evening and late-night service on targeted routes, and 24/7 airport service options.
He described safety and security initiatives the agency is piloting or expanding, including anti-smoking missions with the Chicago Police Department, safety outreach missions where police engage riders proactively, overnight canine missions on the Green Line between Cermak and 95th every night and targeted deployment of security and crisis-response resources. He said CTA is also exploring non-law-enforcement crisis response teams in coordination with the mayor’s office of community safety.
On workforce metrics, he said the agency has hired over 5,000 employees in the past two years and has more than 100 additional bus operators than in 2019, while rail operator numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. He stressed that hiring progress does not remove the need to address capital needs and performance drivers such as slow zones.
Directors asked how additional funding would be prioritized and pressed for near-term pilots and public reporting on quick-start security initiatives; the acting president said CTA will start several pilots and provide regular, accessible updates on outcomes.
What’s next: CTA will continue legislative engagement in Springfield, roll out pilots and report back to the board on performance and security pilot outcomes.
