Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter will keep his job for now, thanks to several Black aldermen.
While Mayor Brandon Johnson stands by Carter amid calls for his resignation, a resolution backed by 29 aldermen seeking to oust him failed to go before the City Council for a final vote.
Instead, Aldermen Jason Ervin (28th) and Anthony Beale (9th) sent it to the City Council’s Committee on Committees and Rules at the May 22 Council meeting. Chaired by Alderman Michelle Harris (8th), the Rules Committee is where many proposals die. Ervin has defended Carter’s performance and his work to secure federal funding for a long-promised extension of the Red Line farther south.
“There are things that can be improved … Nonetheless, with those situations, you got to look at the funding and some other things and go from there,” Ervin said at the meeting. “I think President Carter is bringing the funding that we need to improve the Red Line, the Blue Line, the Green Line and the Purple Line.”
Fifteen Black aldermen did not sign the resolution that demands Carter resign or be fired. Aldermen Derrick Curtis (18th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th) are among the 29 aldermen who signed the resolution.
The chief sponsor of the resolution is Alderman Andre Vasquez (40th). Vasquez said the resolution is a “vote of no confidence” and urges Mayor Johnson to fire Carter if he doesn’t resign.
Approximately 26 aldermen are needed to pass the resolution.
Other aldermen who have signed on in support of the resolution include: Daniel La Spata (1st), Peter Chico (10th), Marty Quinn (13th), Raymond Lopez (15th), Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), Jessie Fuentes (26th), Ruth Cruz (30th), Felix Cardona (31st), Scott Waguespack (32nd), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), Bill Conway (34th), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), Andre Vasquez (40th), Brendan Reilly (42nd), James Gardiner (45th) and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th).
Carter served as the U.S. Department of Transportation Acting Chief of Staff to Secretary Anthony Foxx. He was appointed CTA President in 2015.
With about 10,000 employees, the CTA, before the pandemic, provided about 500 million rides a year with its 1,880 buses and an extensive train system that has 224 miles of track with more than 1,490 rail cars.
In recent years, following the coronavirus pandemic, the CTA has come under fire for its reduced service, ghost trains, late arrival times and Carter’s annual salary raises that now pay him $376,000.
The resolution criticizes Carter for avoiding requests to appear before the City Council in 2022. It also criticizes Carter’s annual salary, the lack of performance reviews of him and poor working conditions at the CTA.
During his appearance before the City Council, Carter defended his management of the CTA and assured the City Council that the agency was headed in the right direction. But last month, the CTA released new rail schedules that show overall service was reduced at levels lower than 2023 and 2019.
Critics say Carter reportedly appeared “tone deaf” about concerns and problems facing the CTA.
The resolution cites a 24.6-percent reduction in services on the Yellow Line; 9.5 percent on the Orange Line; 8.1 percent on the Green Line; 7 percent on the Purple Line; 5.7 percent on the Red Line and 4.3 percent on the Pink Line, when compared to last fall.
However, Carter has won praise for his efforts in making the long-stalled $3.6 billion Red Line extension project a reality. For decades, the project lacked federal funding to build. Last September, the CTA said it was in line to receive a total of $1.9 billion in federal funding. In January, President Joe Biden said he will allocate a proposed $350 million in his 2025 budget.
The CTA reportedly will cover the remaining costs with $950 million from the local tax increment financing district (TIF), $130 million from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, $365 million in anticipated state funding, and $182 million in CTA bonds and other sources.
When completed, the project will extend the Red Line to the Far South Side neighborhoods that include Riverdale. The 5.6-mile Red Line extension will start at the 95th Street Terminal, extending to the vicinity of 130th Street. It will include four new accessible stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street, each of which would include bus, bike, pedestrian and parking facilities.
