Reporting for this piece is by Igor Studenkov, and commentary is by editor John Greenfield.
This morning, the CTA board held its last meeting of 2025. Unlike last year, this time there wasn't a Santa delivering presents this time. But there was a lot of reflection on how the transit fiscal cliff that was looming in December 2024 was averted in the wee hours of last October 31, aka "The Halloween Miracle".
The board also responded to Trump administration's letter threatening to cut CTA funding if the agency didn't present a plan to improve public safety. The feds were seemingly clueless that was already mandated by the new state transit bill.
The November board meeting turned out to be the last one for boardfor director Michelle Lee, who left the board before moving to Scottsdale. However, she told the board that she would come back to Chicago during warmer months.
This meeting’s public comments had two major themes.
More from the "No protected lanes on Grand Avenue" crowd
Former Ashland Avenue bus rapid transit opponent Roger Romanelli and a few residents and business owners from Grand Avenue in West Town again protested the City's plan to add protected bike lanes on the section of the street between Ashland and Ogden avenues. Back in November, they pitched instead painting bus lanes, similar to what’s already on Chicago Avenue, three blocks north.
In July 2024, CDOT cut the ribbon on the first phase of the bikeway project, a 1.2-mile stretch of PBLs on Grand between Chicago and Damen avenues. Since then, the half mile of Grand between Damen and Ashland has gotten protected lanes.
In contrast to the November meeting, none of the speakers complained that bike lanes would replace some car parking and hurt Grand Avenue businesses. This time around, their arguments focused squarely on the benefits of bus lanes.
"Please ask Mayor [Brandon] Johnson to withdraw his opposition to the bus lanes," Romanelli urged the board. As far has we know, the mayor has not actually voiced any opposition to the bus lane proposal, and it's not clear he's even heard about it. "In Chicago, we only have 13 miles of dedicated bus lanes, while New York City has over 100 lines." New York also uses cameras to ticket people from driving in bus lanes, but Chicago would need a new state law passed to be able to do that.
Romanelli compared the potential benefits to what the opening of the Morgan/Lake ‘L’ station did to Fulton Market District. "Grand Avenue – it's a golden goose," he said. “it can only get more golden." It seems like quite a stretch to compare the benefits of a new 'L' station to those of sporadically enforced paint-only bus lanes.
He and others urged the transit board to at least voice a position. "I love public transit," he said. "We all love to support the city, and we really believe you have the obligation to tell people where you stand on the Grand Avenue issue," Romanelli said.
"In regards to the speakers on the Grand Avenue route, I absolutely appreciate your passion on bus lanes," CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen said later in the meeting. "We share it."
However, Romanelli's bus proposal seems quite disingenuous. Judging from his successful efforts to kill Ashland BRT, Romanelli is less interested in speeding buses than making sure a project to improve safety for bike riders, and all other road users, doesn't make driving slightly less convenient.
Non-union Black contractors and business owners want a piece of the RLE pie
The other major group were Black contractors and business owners from Roseland and other Far South Side neighborhoods who argued that the Red Line Extension project doesn’t benefit them because work must be done by union contractors. Owen Puttman, owner of MIKK-DLP Construction, told Streetsblog in a follow-up interview that the issue is that most Black contractors are non-union (a concern Igor has heard raised over and over again about major West Side developments). The group also complained that people without union connections were shut out of union apprenticeship programs.
"We don’t want a handout," Pittman said. “We just need an opportunity to participate. He emphasized that the group is "not anti-Union – we are pro-Black, and pro-community," and that they don’t believe the unions necessarily share those priorities.
CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen responded to both groups later during the meeting. She urged business owners and contractors to speak to CTA Director of Diversity Programs JuanPablo Prieto, which they did while the board was in executive session.
Response to the Federal Transit Administration letter
According to an FTA press release, on Monday, agency head Marc Molinaro sent a letter to Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Johnson "issuing a Special Directive to the CTA demanding the agency develop and implement a plan to measurably reduce assaults on transit workers and passengers and address unsafe conditions that have contributed to increased crime on CTA’s bus and rail system."
The statement cited the November 17 burning attack on Bethany MaGee as the impetus behind the directive. The FTA is requiring the CTA to "update its Agency Safety Plan by the end of December and send the plan to FTA within seven business days of approval by [the CTA board]." He also demanded that the transit agency develop a "security enhancement plan" by next Monday, December 15, send it to the FTA for approval and, once approved, implement it no later than December 19. Molinaro threatened to withhold funding if CTA doesn’t comply.
As CTA’s 2026 budget notes, the FTA doesn’t fund the transit agency's day-to-day operations. It does provide grant funding for things like bus and rail car replacements, and the infrastructure improvements like the aforementioned Red Line extension. For those keeping track at home, Trump is also trying to block that project.
The Illinois transit funding bill includes several sections focused on improving public safety, It requires the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, the successor agency to Regional Transportation Authority, to set up a multi-pronged safety approach that would include sworn police officers, Transit Ambassadors and social service agencies. The bill also requires the CTA and Pace to install shield-style doors on all buses to protect the drivers from assault.
During her regular report to the board, Leerhsen said that CTA is working on the response within the deadlines.
Board member L. Bernard Jakes said that, while he believed that the federal response is overblown, improving public safety is still important to address. He urged the CTA to speak out about what the agency is already doing and what it plans to do. "We have a lot of things to celebrate, but that one thing is still a thorn in our [side]," Jakes said. "We all care about it, but I’d really like to hear more, starting next year, so the public will know, what are the things we’re putting in place."
Director Pastor Michael Eaddy agreed. "We know what we have issues that need to be addressed. "I as well will look forward to hearing what is the plan," he said. "One does have to be put in place, and we know that that’s a concern, and that is the focus of this board." He added adding that, even with that in mind, the letter struck him as an attempt to 'smear' Chicago.
Board member Roberto Requejo said that, while he wanted to take the letter in good faith, he found the second Trump Administration making public safety demands hypocritical. "The same federal government that is arresting, ambushing and kidnapping residents all over Chicago, is the same government that shows concern over violence in transit," he said. "I choose to believe that the leadership and the staff at the FTA are genuinely concerned, and rather than exchange of letters back and forth, I’d rather they met with CTA in person."
Farewell to Michelle Lee
Director Michelle Lee was appointed to the CTA board by then-mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2022. According to her LinkedIn profile, she currently works as the senior manager for public policy and accessibility at Serve Robotics.
Lee uses a motorized mobility device. As several board members noted, she consonantly asked questions about how various projects and initiatives would impact riders with disabilities,
It will be up to Johnson to nominate the replacement. In September, as part of the transit governance overhaul passed in Springfield, the board will go from having four mayoral appointees and three gubernatorial appointees to three mayoral appointees, two gubernatorial appointees and two members appointed by Cook County board president. There is nothing transit bill stopping Johnson from recommending Lee’s successor before then.
After all the board members shared kind words about Lee, Leerhsen described her as "a model of leadership that I followed as a woman in this industry." The acting president also praised Lee for being "truly a champion of the CTA" and noted that Lee regularly shared her riding experiences with CTA staff.
Lee said that she was "sad to be rolling off the board" and "speechless" after all the comments she heard. She thanked the board and the staff, especially the drivers on the 66 Chicago route. "Your work is what truly makes CTA such a world-class system," she said. "And I will keep the feedback coming when I get to ride again."
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– John Greenfield, editor
