Chicago Politics and Urbanism Daily
CTA accountability crunch hits leadership, safety and access
Friday, May 22, 2026 · 8 min
CTA leadership and safety accountability are colliding with regional transit reforms, as advocates push Nora Leerhsen for permanent president, prosecutors launch a transit-crime task force, and Metra’s Millennium elevator outage exposes accessibility gaps; Cook County says delayed property-tax refunds are finally moving.
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Show notes
CTA leadership and safety accountability are colliding with regional transit reforms, as advocates push Nora Leerhsen for permanent president, prosecutors launch a transit-crime task force, and Metra’s Millennium elevator outage exposes accessibility gaps; Cook County says delayed property-tax refunds are finally moving.
In this episode
- Commuter advocates: Make Nora Leerhsen the CTA’s permanent president — Chicago Tribune
# Commuter advocates: Make Nora Leerhsen the CTA’s permanent president Published: 2026-05-21T19:38:49+00:00 Source: chicagotribune.com (chicagotribune.com) Language: en ## Story Mayor Brandon Johnson has had more than a year to determine who should permanently lead the CTA. Yet now, just days before new regional transit governance reforms take effect and dilute mayoral control over the agency,…
- Step Back — When officials announce a new CTA safety task force, who is actually in charge of safety on the trains and buses — the CTA, CPD, prosecutors, or someone else — and what numbers would tell us it’s working instead of just being another press conference?
Background sources
- Cook County State's Attorney launches new task force to fight crime on Chicago area's mass transit system - CBS Chicago — Cbsnews
- New CTA security plan: sheriff's deputies on trains, high-barrier gates, farecard checks - WBEZ Chicago — Wbez
- Cook County State's Attorney's office spreads word about CTA anti-crime task force - CBS Chicago — Cbsnews
- CTA ends contracts with unarmed security officers, will have armed police officers on trains instead - CBS Chicago — Cbsnews
- Mayor Brandon Johnson says "more work to be done" to improve safety on the CTA - CBS Chicago — Cbsnews
- Today, CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen joined Cook County ... — Instagram
- State's Attorney Vows To Target 'Serious Crimes' On CTA With New Transit Task Force — Jamie Nesbitt Golden
- Cook County prosecutors launch task force to address violence on public transit - Chicago Sun-Times — Suntimes
- Cook County Treasurer's Office sending out millions in property tax refunds after year-long delay thanks to AI experts - ABC7 Chicago — ABC7 Chicago
Cook County Treasurer's Office sending out millions in property tax refunds after year-long delay thanks to AI experts - ABC7 Chicago # Cook Co. sending out millions in property tax refunds after year-long delay Thursday, May 21, 2026 9:45PM CHICAGO (WLS) -- After a year of major delays to get Cook County property tax refund checks to residents, the ABC7 I-Team learned that the hold-ups are…
- Chicago Rail Station Elevator Out of Service Until Winter 2027 - Elevator World — Elevator World
Chicago Rail Station Elevator Out of Service Until Winter 2027 - Elevator World News Chicago Rail Station Elevator Out of Service Until Winter 2027 # Chicago Rail Station Elevator Out of Service Until Winter 2027 By Kaija Wilkinson| Daily News| May 21, 2026 1 min to read Share Shares Concourse at Millennium Station; photo by Cards84664 for Wikipedia Disabled riders of Metra, the rail…
- Illinois Releases New Report Aimed at Addressing Homelessness in the Latine Community — Illinois Department of Human Services
Illinois Releases New Report Aimed at Addressing Homelessness in the Latine Community # Illinois Releases New Report Aimed at Addressing Homelessness in the Latine Community First-of-its-kind report outlines structural factors causing homelessness to inform future policies May 21, 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT SPRINGFIELD — On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Governor JB Pritzker, other State…