{"id":861673,"date":"2026-06-12T07:06:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T07:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/861673\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T07:06:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T07:06:23","slug":"rta-chair-sends-veiled-warning-shot-over-cta-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/861673\/","title":{"rendered":"RTA chair sends veiled warning shot over CTA leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regional Transportation Authority board Chair Kirk Dillard made it clear in a letter sent to transit officials this week that any changes to executive leadership at the CTA now need the OK of Illinois\u2019 brand-new transit governing body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear if Chicago\u2019s mayor, who last month<\/a> directed the CTA\u2019s board of directors to \u201cmove expeditiously to finalize the selection\u201d of a permanent president, is on board.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dillard\u2019s note, sent Monday to the board chairs of the region\u2019s three major transit agencies, lays out his expectations for the CTA, Metra and Pace as the Chicago region begins a massive overhaul of its public transportation systems.<\/p>\n

Landmark legislation that restructures the governing bodies of the CTA, Metra and Pace \u2014 and provides more than $1 billion in annual funding for public transit \u2014 took effect last week.<\/a> The law creates the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, which lawmakers intend to be a more powerful version of the RTA.<\/p>\n

Among other changes, the new law dilutes some of the influence the mayor of Chicago has over the executive appointment process at the CTA, which has been led for more than a year by an acting president, Nora Leerhsen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dillard\u2019s letter contains what appears to be a veiled warning shot at Mayor Brandon Johnson: No appointing a permanent CTA leader without the buy-in of the new NITA governing body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAny Executive Director appointments or replacements now require advice and consent of the NITA board that is yet to be seated. Further, the NITA Act requires an executive search process to be followed,\u201d Dillard said in his letter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mayoral spokesperson Allison Novelo did not directly answer a question about whether Johnson agreed with Dillard\u2019s note on the executive appointment process.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the region transitions to the governance structure established under the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Act, the existing governance framework of the service boards remain in place,\u201d she said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome the opportunity to strengthen coordination across the region\u2019s transit agencies in support of a more connected, reliable, and rider-focused transit system for riders across Chicago and the region,\u201d Novelo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Novelo did not confirm or deny whether the mayor believed appointment of a CTA president would now need approval from NITA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The transit legislation requires the new NITA board to give its \u201cadvice and consent\u201d for the appointment of any new CTA leader. The law also requires the NITA board chair and executive director to be included in any search process for an executive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NoraNora Leerhsen, acting CTA president, sits down with Kirk Dillard of the RTA to answer questions during a City Club of Chicago program at Maggiano’s Banquets on Jan. 22, 2026. (Antonio Perez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Though the law took effect last week, the transit agencies are in a bit of limbo until Sept. 1, when the terms of board members for all four transit agencies expire and new members are expected to be seated. The RTA is operating under its current name until Sept. 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring this time of transition before new members are seated at the four agencies, the executive leadership will continue to operate in an interim capacity,\u201d wrote Dillard, whose board term is also set to expire Sept. 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a phone call Wednesday, Dillard said he wrote the letter to keep an open line of communication with his fellow board chairmen and to ensure a \u201csmooth, successful transition\u201d to the new NITA governance structure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dillard also said he wanted to discourage any \u201crash\u201d decisions related to major hiring choices, including both executive and other senior leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mayor, who has allowed the CTA to be led on an interim basis for more than a year, made a last-minute push for a permanent appointment weeks before the transit law took effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On May 7, Johnson wrote a letter to CTA board Chair Lester Barclay, directing the transit board to finalize the selection of a candidate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should include prompt commencement of interviews with finalists, including the Acting President, before submitting the Board\u2019s recommended candidate to my office for final consideration,\u201d Johnson wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Johnson cited the impending NITA deadline in his letter, saying it was \u201cvital\u201d for the CTA to \u201center this new era with dedicated, permanent leadership.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The CTA\u2019s board has thus far not taken the mayor up on his ask, at least publicly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The board did not publicly discuss any executive search at either its May or June board meetings, although members did meet in relatively lengthy closed sessions at both meetings. During the June meeting Wednesday, board members met in closed session for over an hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mayor has appointed three of the board\u2019s seven current members.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even under the current paradigm, the mayor has struggled to exercise control<\/a> over the executive appointment process at the CTA.<\/p>\n

Barclay, who was appointed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also did not directly answer a question about whether he agreed with Dillard\u2019s note.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NITA law provides for the Chicago Transit Board to exercise its governance responsibilities to the CTA,\u201d Barclay said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Chair of this sitting board, I am committed to working collaboratively with our regional partners as the new NITA structure is established during the transition period, while also upholding my governance responsibilities to the CTA to ensure our agency is providing safe, reliable and accessible service to our riders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dillard\u2019s Monday note was largely focused on guidelines for how the transit agencies should operate during the transition process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For instance, he directed transit agencies to notify the RTA if they intend to hire for certain high-level positions. They should cooperate with a new law enforcement task force to be led by the Cook County sheriff\u2019s office, he wrote. And they should notify the RTA of any competitive grant applications before they apply.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dillard also told the agencies they should coordinate any changes in service to help passengers transfer between transit systems, such as between a Metra train and a Pace bus.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Metra\u2019s board chair, Joseph McMahon, said the commuter rail agency \u201clook(s) forward to working with and fully cooperating with RTA\/NITA throughout this transition period to deliver what the public expects.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pace declined to comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regional Transportation Authority board Chair Kirk Dillard made it clear in a letter sent to transit officials this…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":861674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,27248,5386,1818,36234,18277,238583,351458,38430,351457],"class_list":["post-861673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-chicago","tag-cta","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-mayor-brandon-johnson","tag-metra","tag-nita","tag-northern-illinois-transit-authority-act","tag-pace","tag-regional-transportation-authority"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116735875739917839","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}