Pritzker: ‘New leadership’ needed at the CTA

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority continues to struggle across a number of service fronts, and now the most prominent voice in Illinois politics is calling for a change at the top.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker threw his hat into the ring of CTA critics Friday, calling out CTA President Dorval Carter amid the transportation agency’s ongoing struggles with service, staffing, ridership and reliability.

“I was late to work earlier this week because there was some sort of massive delay,” said one CTA rider. “The smell sometimes is a little questionable.”

“It always be nasty,” said another CTA rider.

Between sometimes insidious smells and dubious delays, CTA data shows combined bus and rail ridership has lagged behind pre-pandemic levels, dropping from an average daily ridership of 1.3-million people in Dec. 2019, to 836,000 in Dec. 2023.

This coincides with a decline in services across several CTA train lines. Just one example, since 2020, service on the “L” — CTA’s Blue Line — has been cut by 22%.

“There’s a lot of delays. Sometimes busses get all crammed,” a CTA bus rider told WGN News. “Or like there’s 30 minutes to wait for one, especially at night.”

“They need to have more security for the people who rob because a lot of people are afraid,” said another CTA bus rider.

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At least five members of the Chicago City Council have called for Carter’s firing, which has come alongside the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board demanding change at the CTA as well.

With the chorus of criticism growing louder, Pritzker added his voice to the fray.

“Look, a lot of changes are going to have to take place, there’s no doubt, at CTA,” Pritzker said. “And I think that’s going to take some new leadership, and additional leadership.”

When asked if his “new leadership” comment meant Carter should be fired, Pritzker replied, “I know you all have tried to use the word ‘fired’ here. I think that there needs to be an evolution of leadership in order for us to get where we need to go with the CTA.”

As a part of Pritzker’s role as Governor, he appoints three of the seven board members who oversee the CTA. Pritzker acknowledged that’s not enough to almost single-handedly make a change at the top happen, but those on the board will be working together to weigh their best options moving forward.

“I have appointments at the CTA, but they’re not a controlling majority,” Pritzker said. “But the people that we appoint, of course, will be working with the others who are on the board to evaluate and make changes in management.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has not weighed in directly on Carter’s future, having only said he’s evaluating the situation.

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On Carter’s end, he set a goal to have two-million daily riders on the CTA, but said the transportation agency needs more resources. Complicating matters, a fiscal cliff looms for the CTA — A projected $730 million budget gap — Once COVID funding expires in 2026.

“We’re going to have to consider the plan that the CTA should have come forward with already, which we haven’t seen,” Pritzker said. “But that may include changing fares and other things that will help us deal with what is clearly going to be a fiscal cliff here.”

The CTA provided WGN News with the following statement:

“The CTA has been a good steward of COVID relief funding it has received through the CARES, CRRSAA, ARP and ARP Discretionary federal funding programs. CTA was allocated a total of $2.2B, which has enabled CTA to continue to provide service. However, that funding is expected to be exhausted in late 2025. In the Chicago region, the three regional transit operators—CTA, Metra and Pace—anticipate a cumulative $730M budget shortfall by 2026. The concerns over a possible fiscal cliff are real.

“Since 2015, the CTA has identified more than $1 billion in cost savings and non-farebox revenue growth, all without impacts to service or safety-sensitive positions. Historically, and over the last 25 years, Illinois State capital funding has been intermittent, with funding available every other five-year period.

“Neither fare increases nor service cuts will fill the anticipated annual budget gap CTA is facing, which are currently estimated at $500M and growing. And though CTA ridership has consistently increased over the past two years, it’s currently just above 60% of pre-pandemic levels.

“CTA recognizes that without additional revenue streams, it may be faced with drastic service cuts, employee layoffs, or other unwanted cost-saving measures. CTA will continue working closely with its regional sister agencies – RTA, Metra and Pace—to engage local and state officials on pursing a variety of new, long-term funding solutions that not only help support day-to-day operations, but also capital funding that can be used to match and unlock the unprecedented federal funding made available as part of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure law.

“Since well before the end of the pandemic, the Chicago Transit Authority has worked diligently to attract customers back to public transit and we continue to do so every day. The upward ridership trends, decreasing crime rates and improved service reliability that CTA is experiencing are evidence that our efforts have been productive. We’ve also restored bus service to near-pre-COVID-19 levels and are adding rail service as we increase staffing levels to meet the growing need.”

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