CTA hosts pop-up events to solicit rider feedback
CHICAGO (WGN) — Transit riders this month have an opportunity to speak with Chicago Transit Authority personnel to offer feedback that will be used by the agency to plan for the upcoming budget and help prioritize future investments and strategies.
The CTA this week announced a series of pop-up 'CTA Chats' at several rail stations and bus terminals, with the first being held Tuesday at the Union Station Transit Center.
The recently passed budget for Illinois' 2026 fiscal year did not include reform or additional funding for the state's transit agencies. In Chicagoland, the Regional Transportation Authority faces a $770 million fiscal cliff and has warned of transit cuts on an 'unprecedented scale.'
'We are in a unique time for transit in our region, and it important that decisions we are making and projects and programs we are prioritizing are grounded in our riders' priorities and vision for the future,' acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen said in a statement.
Union Station Transit Center
6/10/25(Tuesday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Illinois Medical District (Blue Line)
6/11/25(Wednesday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Garfield (Green Line)
6/12/25(Thursday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Navy Pier Bus Terminal
6/14/25(Saturday)
12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Loyola (Red Line)
6/17/25(Tuesday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Paulina & Howard Bus Terminal
6/18/25(Wednesday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Belmont/Kimball (Blue Line Bus Terminal)
6/19/25(Thursday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
95th Dan Ryan (Red Line)
6/21/25(Saturday)
12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Jefferson Park (Blue Line) Bus Terminal
6/24/25(Tuesday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Roosevelt (Red/Orange Green Line)
6/25/25(Wednesday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Midway Orange Line Bus Terminal
6/26/25(Thursday)
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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CTA hosts pop-up events to solicit rider feedback
CHICAGO (WGN) — Transit riders this month have an opportunity to speak with Chicago Transit Authority personnel to offer feedback that will be used by the agency to plan for the upcoming budget and help prioritize future investments and strategies. The CTA this week announced a series of pop-up 'CTA Chats' at several rail stations and bus terminals, with the first being held Tuesday at the Union Station Transit Center. The recently passed budget for Illinois' 2026 fiscal year did not include reform or additional funding for the state's transit agencies. In Chicagoland, the Regional Transportation Authority faces a $770 million fiscal cliff and has warned of transit cuts on an 'unprecedented scale.' 'We are in a unique time for transit in our region, and it important that decisions we are making and projects and programs we are prioritizing are grounded in our riders' priorities and vision for the future,' acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen said in a statement. Union Station Transit Center 6/10/25(Tuesday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Illinois Medical District (Blue Line) 6/11/25(Wednesday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Garfield (Green Line) 6/12/25(Thursday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Navy Pier Bus Terminal 6/14/25(Saturday) 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Loyola (Red Line) 6/17/25(Tuesday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Paulina & Howard Bus Terminal 6/18/25(Wednesday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Belmont/Kimball (Blue Line Bus Terminal) 6/19/25(Thursday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. 95th Dan Ryan (Red Line) 6/21/25(Saturday) 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Jefferson Park (Blue Line) Bus Terminal 6/24/25(Tuesday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Roosevelt (Red/Orange Green Line) 6/25/25(Wednesday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Midway Orange Line Bus Terminal 6/26/25(Thursday) 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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"CTA Chats" being held to get Chicago commuter feedback ahead of budget planning
"CTA Chats" being held to get Chicago commuter feedback ahead of budget planning "CTA Chats" being held to get Chicago commuter feedback ahead of budget planning "CTA Chats" being held to get Chicago commuter feedback ahead of budget planning With looming service cuts to public transportation, the Chicago Transit Authority is holding a series of pop-up chats to talk about the transit agency's future. The "CTA Chats" will be held throughout the summer as officials seek feedback from commuters on daily travel and improvements they want to see. The agency says it will use the feedback to plan for its upcoming budget. Tuesday afternoon, agency leaders will be at Union Station from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to speak with riders. They will be at the Illinois Medical District Blue Line stop on Wednesday and at the Garfield Green Line stop on Thursday. Leaders will be at the Navy Pier bus terminal from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday. CTA, Metra, and Pace officials are preparing "doomsday budgets" after Illinois state lawmakers didn't address the Chicago area mass transit system's massive budget shortfall during the spring legislative session. With federal COVID-19 funding expiring at the end of the year, the transit agencies are facing a $770 million dollar shortfall in 2026. Without new funding from the state, the agencies have warned of service cuts of up to 40%.
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Official leaving Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration for Obama Foundation
CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson's chief operating officer is leaving the administration to join the Obama Foundation, ending weeks of speculation — and pushback — over his potential appointment to lead the CTA. The Obama Foundation told the Tribune John Roberson will join its leadership team as executive vice president starting July 7. And Johnson spokesperson Cassio Mendoza confirmed Roberson's last day in the mayor's office will be June 20. 'I want to thank John Roberson for his dedication and service to our city over these past two years,' Johnson said in a statement. 'I wish him the best of luck as he continues to serve our city in his new role at the Obama Foundation.' Roberson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. A member of the administration since the freshman mayor assumed office, Roberson is the last official within Johnson's inner circle with previous City Hall experience. His resignation was announced in a senior staff call Monday morning, sources said. 'John has the right background, experience and reputation to lead the operations of the Obama Presidential Center as we prepare to welcome the people of Chicago and the world to our campus next year,' Valerie Jarrett, CEO of The Obama Foundation, wrote in a statement. 'John is well known for his rigor and commitment to excellence and his values-based leadership approach which aligns strongly with President Obama's vision.' For the last several weeks, Roberson had been the subject of opposition from transit advocates who feared the Johnson administration was angling to install him as the next president of the CTA. The agency has been left without a permanent leader since late January, when embattled president Dorval Carter retired. Transit activists sought a thorough search process for the agency's new head, whom they hoped would have previous experience leading a mass transit system. Johnson's team has said they did do a national search and he has not made a decision. Earlier this spring, Roberson was also rumored to be Johnson's next Chicago Department of Aviation commissioner. In the end, he was tapped for neither the Aviation nor the CTA role, and his exit from city government leaves the Johnson administration without any old-school City Hall bureaucrats among his top advisers. It also leaves a giant question mark on how the course of a looming budget crisis within for the CTA will play out. The Illinois General Assembly adjourned this month without a solution to the estimated $771 million budget gap for Chicago-area transit agencies after negotiations fell apart at the eleventh hour. Some Johnson critics said the trepidation over CTA's leadership under Johnson, who defended Carter throughout his controversial reign, impeded the transit agency's case before lawmakers that it can be trusted with more revenue to stave off the fiscal cliff. The mayor retorted last week that was a 'poor analysis' but did not say whether he will name the next CTA president before Springfield reconvenes to hammer out its transit package. 'I have not made a decision on who our appointment is going to be,' Johnson told reporters last week. Roberson's transition into the nonprofit sector comes after wearing multiple hats over the course of his government career, including commissioner of the Aviation, Buildings and Sewers departments under Mayor Richard M. Daley. He stepped down from city government in 2005 after he was named as a cooperating witness in a federal investigation into fraud in city hiring and promotions, though he denied that his role in the probe was behind his decision. Afterward, Roberson served as a top aide under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Ald. David Moore, 17th, before returning to City Hall to join the Johnson administration in May 2023. As COO, his main task has been overseeing the nuts and bolts of city operations and ensuring that government services run smoothly. The most visible role Roberson took on in that respect was managing the behind-the-scenes preparations for the Democratic National Convention's arrival in Chicago last August, when the mayor was thrust into the national spotlight and concluded the made-for-TV week of events with relatively high marks for how the city was portrayed on the national stage. A former organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson took office after running as a firebrand progressive and had appointed Rich Guidice and Roberson as the two City Hall veterans among his top deputies. Their hires were seen as reassurance to members of the business community who worried the new mayor would shake up city government too much by only bringing in allies from his activist grassroots coalition. Those familiar with both Roberson and other top Johnson aides' thinking said the City Hall veteran at times clashed with mayoral staffers from more progressive grassroots backgrounds. Guidice, also the former head of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, left as Johnson's chief of staff in April 2024 after less than a year on the job and was replaced by Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who rose up among the Northwest Side progressives and served as a state senator before joining the Johnson administration in 2023. Asked about Roberson's apparent tensions with progressives in the Johnson administration, Guidice said he never saw direct clashes but defended his former colleague and friend of more than two decades. 'They're losing someone with institutional knowledge in the administration, who knows the day-to-day operations of the city,' Guidice said. 'He was pretty aligned with my way of thinking, I would say, and my understanding of city government.' In the Obama Foundation release, Roberson said he's looking forward to his new role. 'As a son of the South Side, I couldn't be more proud to build on the tremendous accomplishments of the OPC team and deliver this game-changing institution to our community and for our great city,' he said. _____ (The Tribune's Gregory Royal Pratt contributed reporting.) _____
