Chicago Politics and Urbanism Daily
Johnson races the clock on CTA control
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 · 6 min
Chicago CTA leadership is suddenly a clock fight: Mayor Brandon Johnson is pushing a permanent president before the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority gets veto power, with rider-facing fixes still boxed in by funding, staffing, and governance limits.
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Show notes
Chicago CTA leadership is suddenly a clock fight: Mayor Brandon Johnson is pushing a permanent president before the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority gets veto power, with rider-facing fixes still boxed in by funding, staffing, and governance limits.
In this episode
- Mayor Brandon Johnson makes last-minute push to name permanent CTA leader — Chicago Tribune
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson asked the Chicago Transit Authority board to select a permanent leader just weeks before a new state law limits his control over the executive appointment process at the mass transit agency. In a May 7 letter addressed to CTA board chair Lester Barclay, Johnson directed the agency’s board to “move expeditiously to finalize the selection of a permanent President for…
- Step Back — If Mayor Johnson succeeds in rushing through a permanent CTA chief, what can that person actually change for riders — service levels, ghost buses, staffing, safety — and what is still controlled by the CTA board, City Hall, or Springfield?
Background sources
- Dorval Carter Jr. broke the CTA. Nora Leerhsen’s on track to fix it – if we fund her work. - Streetsblog Chicago — Streetsblog
- CTA Faces 'Drastic Service Cuts' If State Funding Doesn’t Come Through, Agency Head Says — Quinn Myers
- Transit reform measure shifts CTA control from Chicago mayor — Alice Yin
- Lawmakers Unveil Plan to Overhaul Chicago-Area Transit With New ... — Wttw
- Mayor Brandon Johnson makes last-minute push to name permanent CTA leader — Chicagotribune
- Industrial History: CTA Red-Purple Modernization (RPM) Program, Phase 1 — Industrial History
Industrial History: CTA Red-Purple Modernization (RPM) Program, Phase 1 Phase 1 is part of a $1.7b Red+Purple Modernization Program. The Red-Purple Bypass is also part of this project. Phase 1 will replace the existing track and stations between the Lawrence and Bryn Mawr stations. See About for an overview. During construction, Argyle and Bryn Mawr will have temporary stations and Lawrence and…