CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Over a dozen Chicago alderpersons have called on Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter to resign or be fired.
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), vice chair of the city council’s transportation committee, was the lead sponsor of a resolution calling for new leadership of the CTA, amid mounting complaints about poor service and lack of safety.
Vasquez acknowledged that Carter is not the only one responsible for the problems, but he said the buck stops with Carter’s management.
“We need somebody who’s going to get under the hood, so to speak, and make sure that they’re improving the safety, the reliability, making sure workers feel invested in, [and] making sure that the public has a confidence in the system,” he said. “We’re not there yet. We’re watching other, comparable cities all bounce back and do even better, but we’re languishing.”
He applauded Carter for securing more funding for the transit agency but he noted that even Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said there needs to be an evolution of CTA leadership.
“So when you’re going to the state, and the governor has said he believes there’s a change in leadership needed, where there’s a legislature looking to consolidate Metra, Pace and CTA — I think that says a lot about the lack of confidence in CTA’s leadership to run its one system,” Vasquez said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, who’s been evasive on this question, has the controlling hand here. He essentially chooses the CTA president.
Vasquez said the council resolution continues the conversation about who should have that job.
The CTA has released a statement reacting to the resolution and said, in part, that it contains inaccurate information and misleading statements.
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok