Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth Signs Letter Calling for a Nationwide Search for New CTA President
Alderwoman Manaa-Hoppenworth recently joined other City Council colleagues in signing on to a letter calling for a nationwide search for the next CTA president.
As many of our 48th ward neighbors know, CTA standards have fallen in the past five years, consistently failing to return to pre-COVID levels of ridership, reliability, safety, and hygiene. As the mayor considers who should fill the position of CTA predsident, it is essential that we conduct an extensive search for someone with the user experience and technical expertise necessary to delievr badly-neede improvements equitably and efficently. Read the full letter below.
Amidst ongoing speculation that Mayor johnson may appoint a new President of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), we, the members of City Council, are calling on Mayor Johnson and the CTA Board to conduct a nationwide search to fill the position.
It is difficult to think of a time when the need for strong leadership in our transit system has been clearer, or more dire. In the years since the pandemic, we have seen what happens when we don’t prioritize public transit. The CTA consistently underperformed in meeting pre-COVID standards of ridership, reliability, safety, and hygiene compared to peer networks in other metropolitan areas. In the years to come, the Northeastern Illinois trnasit system faces even greater challenges in the form of a $770 million budget shortfall from decreasing ridership, cost inflation, and the exhaustion of federal COVID funding.
Without the leadership that can meet these challenges, we face the very real possibility of seeing devastating cuts to CTA services the Chicagoans depend on to meet their most basic needs. The CTA risks losing up to 60% of its bus routes and four out of eight rail lines if we do not take immediate and decisive action. Given the scope of the challenges that the CTA faces, the new President will have to navigate not only the federal and state relationships neeeded to secure funding for the CTA, but also the technical expertise to deliver equitable improvements across the board to the CTA’s service.
Chicagoans are demanding—and they deserve—a leader with the subject matter expertise, real life user experience, and passion to deliver these badly-needed improvements to the system. We need a leader who regularly uses and believes in public transit and has the techincal experitse to deliver them in an equitable and efficient manner.
A nationwide search is necessary to ensure that we are truly doing our due diligence to deliver the improvements that Chicagoans have been waiting on. It is an opportunity to demonstrate a good faith effort to show that the City is listening to its ridership, unionized staff, and advocacy organizations who have been calling tirelessly for change. Such a process would help increase public confidence in city government by providing the necessary transparency, accountability, and accessibility that hard-working Chicagoans deserve.
After years of falling standards, we owe it to Chicagoans to find the right person who has the expertise, visiong, and heart to meet this current moment. We urge Mayor johnson and the CTA Board to commit to a nationwide talent search.
Sincerely,
Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th Ward
Ald. Daniel LaSpata, 1st Ward
Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th Ward
Ald. Jeylu Gutierrez, 14th Ward
Ald. Mike Rodriguez, 22nd Ward
Ald. Ruth Cruz, 30th Ward
Ald. Timmy Knudsen, 43rd Ward
Ald. Bennet Lawson, 44th Ward
Ald. Angela Clay, 46th Ward
Ald. Matt Martin, 47th Ward
Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, 48th Ward
Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th Ward
