Amid CTA service and safety complaints, aldermen again look to bring CTA leaders in front of City Council

As the CTA faces ongoing complaints of unreliable service and concerns about safety, Chicago aldermen once again sought to bring agency leaders in front of the City Council.

Though their effort was temporarily delayed Wednesday, some three dozen aldermen signed on to a proposal that would require quarterly hearings on CTA service levels, security and other issues. If CTA President Dorval Carter and agency officials failed to participate in a hearing, City Council could not consider measures that would distribute money to the transit agency, unless required to disburse it by law.

The proposal came after aldermen blasted Carter for failing to show up to an earlier City Council hearing, instead sending other agency officials, and as the CTA is seeking council approval for a transit tax district to fund part of the planned 5.6-mile extension of the Red Line south to 130th Street.

But Aldermen Scott Waguespack and Jason Ervin, two allies of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, blocked the proposal on CTA hearings after it was introduced by sending it to the Rules Committee, where legislation often stalls.

The CTA has struggled with persistent concerns about safety, unpredictable service and inaccurate trackers as ridership plummeted during the pandemic. Carter and Chicago police have repeatedly said they were boosting security and police presence on the system, and Carter recently outlined a broad plan to address complaints that includes upgrades to trackers and adjusting schedules to take into account a staff shortage that the agency says is largely behind the service challenges.

Still, in a visual representation of concerns expressed by several aldermen, North Side Ald. Andre Vasquez arrived to the City Council meeting Wednesday wearing a giant cardboard ghost with the CTA logo printed in the center. The sole City Council member dressed for Halloween, he said he symbolized being “ghosted” by the transit system, as he sought to gather support from colleagues for the proposal.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t stick to character because I actually showed up on time,” Vasquez, 40th, said.

Vasquez said he had broad backing for his proposal “because everyone feels it.” And he thinks the agency must be held accountable, “especially when they’re asking us for support and money.”

“The public understands that the transportation system is a public good,” Vasquez said. “When they’re waiting 45 minutes, even longer, for buses and trains that don’t show up, when they’re concerned about getting on the train system because of safety, they want answers now.”

Asked in a post-council news conference whether the legislation was blocked so she could curb aldermen from having more say in the CTA, Lightfoot scoffed, “That’s a ridiculous suggestion, frankly.”

“Transportation is absolutely critical in our city,” Lightfoot said. “The CTA, like almost every single organization that I’m aware of, has significant challenges in hiring and filling vacancies. Yes, of course, there needs to be more, I think, communication across the board.”

Lightfoot did not comment directly on Vasquez’s proposal but defended her attempts to reach CTA leadership.

“The communication I think has to be better,” she said. “I’ve been very clear about that to the chairman of the CTA board. Dorval Carter reports to a board, and we’ve just got to make sure that the communication is clear.”

Though Carter did not show up to the earlier City Council hearing, CTA spokesman Brian Steele said Wednesday the CTA would follow any ordinance that passed.

“President Carter has always worked with, and continues an open dialogue with, the City Council on a wide variety of issues related to transit service across the entire city,” he said.

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