CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Beleaguered Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Dorval Carter has announced that he will be stepping down as the head of the agency.
The often-criticized public official’s retirement from the CTA will be effective Friday, Jan. 31 , 2025. Carter’s career in public transportation has spanned 40 years, including nearly 10 years as president of the CTA.
Carter plans to become president and CEO of Saint Anthony Hospital on Chicago’s West Side.
“Serving as president of this great agency has been an extraordinary privilege and I am forever grateful for what has been the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Carter in a press release. “It has been an honor to work on behalf of CTA customers and to advance our mission in a city that I love so dearly.”
In recent years, Carter has come under fire, with mounting complaints about poor service and lack of safety on the city’s trains and buses. The CTA also faces an uncertain financial future, due to the Regional Transit Authority soon to grapple with an estimated $700 million plus budget deficit once COVID-19 relief funds dry up. Last May, more than a dozen aldermen called on Carter to resign or be fired, proposing a resolution calling for new leadership of the CTA.
The desire for a shakeup extended beyond City Hall. Last year, Governor Pritzker was on the record as saying new leadership was needed.
“Look, a lot of changes are going to have to take place, there's no doubt, at CTA, and I think that’s going to take some new leadership, additional leadership,” Pritzker said last April.
Carter’s announcement comes just days after the agency secured federal funding for multi-billion dollar Red Line extension project.
WBBM's Craig Dellimore contributed to this report.
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok I Bluesky