Advocates give a thumbs-up to Tom Kotarac as NITA board chair. Former aviation chief Jamie Rhee chosen as AcTINg executive director.

This morning there was another big milestone in the Chicagoland public transportation revolution. After the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act went into effect on September 1, today was the NITA board’s maiden voyage at the former Regional Transportation Authority offices, 175 W. Jackson St. in the Loop.

During today’s public hearing, the directors chose ex-RTA board member Tom Kotarac, the leader of a NITA transition committee, as chair of the new board. And former Chicago Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee was selected as NITA’s interim executive director, which means she’ll pilot the search for a permanent one, which is supposed to take no more than one year. Almost of the directors supported these picks, and transit advocates I spoke to after Kotarac’s selection gave him high praise.

The two previous heads of the RTA, executive director Leanne Redden and board captain Kirk Dillard, stepped down from their positions at the start of this month. So the NITA board’s first order of business today was to appoint the new leadership.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle was the first to speak at today’s hearing. She encouraged her NITA board appointees, and the rest of the directors to think “regionally” and not in terms of “separate, siloed agencies.” “The success of our transit system depends on our ability to think regionally,” Preckwinkle added. “It’s absolutely critical that we do so. We have to coordinate service, plan for the future, make smart investments in our infrastructure, and ultimately provide riders with a system that is more reliable, more accessible and better connected.”

State Rep. Kam Buckner, along with Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado and Sen. Ram Villivalam, were the chief architects of the transit governance and funding reform bill. “The mobility in this country has always been connected with the struggle for freedom,” Buckner said, citing the Montgomery bus boycott as an example. He added that the ultimate measure of the transit system remix won’t be “how many meetings we have or how many acronyms we make up.” He added, “We have to build a system that is safer, faster, cleaner, more reliable, more coordinated, and easier to understand… We will be judged by whether somebody standing at the bus stop at six in the morning can say, ‘This works better than it used to.'”

Several directors put in a good word for Kotarac. “I have had the pleasure of serving on the RTA board with Tom Kotorac for the last two years,” said NITA and Metra director Dennis Modero. “I didn’t know Tom before then, and I had heard a lot about his transit passion and intellect, and I found that all to be true, unfortunately.” The crowd laughed. “He has the skills. The challenge will be getting this big coalition of interest from everyone together, and I pledge to work with you on that.” Ultimately Kotarac was elected anonymously, with 19 “Aye” votes.

“I’m outrageously humbled by your support, and the enormous amount of experience and passion and firepower that we hold as a collective,” Kotarac said after the decision. “It was less than a year ago that the region was staring down a historic fiscal crisis. Here at the RTA board we were planning, with our colleagues at the service boards, for 5,000 layoffs, and planning as the least-worst outcome a 40 percent reduction in service. And then really, really, really, really early on Halloween morning, the leaders who are here today stepped up and gave us the brand new opportunity that is here before us.”

“We have an enormous responsibility to deliver on that opportunity and the NITA Act provides us with historic levels of investment,” Kotarac added, citing the additional $1.5 billion in annual statewide transit funding, mostly allocated to Chicagoland. But just as importantly, it gives us new tools to coordinate, unify, and improve the transit service that the northeast Illinois region has long deserved.”

The board then retreated to a private session to discuss the election of an interim RTA director. I buttonholed a few advocates to get their thoughts on how things were going.

“I’m extremely encouraged by the appointment of Tom Kotarac to lead the board,” said Active Transportation Alliance Campaign Organizer W. Robert Schulz III. “He’s a person that I’ve run into in real life frequently. And he’s been a real advocate for transportation. We’ve ridden the train together. So I know he’s knows transportation from an eye level institutional standpoint, but he also knows it from a street level user standpoint. And so, for that reason, I’m very encouraged.”

“It’s a very exciting morning to have the beginning of Northern Illinois Transit Authority,” said Better Streets Chicago Executive Director Kyle Lucas. “The actual implementation of it is what will really matter to transit riders.So we’re here today to urge the board to heed… the mandate that’s been given by transit riders across the region who fought for this moment very, very hard in 2025, very tirelessly and selflessly. And to ensure that we’re building the transit system of the future, not just maintaining the status quo.

“Tom Kotarac wil be a great leader,” said Audrey Wennink, a senior director leading the Metropolitan Planning Council’s transportation policy efforts. “He’s been on the inside in the establishment role. He has real political acumen from his days on Capitol Hill [in the Illinois congressional delegation]. And he knows how to manage board processes, as he’s already demonstrated, being on the ad-hoc committee. And he’s already been on the RTA board for a couple of years, and he’s demonstrated that he’s been effective.”

When the public meeting reconvened, there was an announcement that Jamie Rhee had been nominated for the interim executive director position, leading a nationwide search for her permanent replacement. Rhee would stay on the job for no more than a year. That’s in contrast to popular Acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen, who’s been at that posiiton for (checking my notes) 19 months.

Director Oswaldo Alvarez pushed back a bit, mentioning that he’d only just met Rhee, and was not aware that there was an open seat for executive director. He suggested holding an emergency meeting so that the board could vet other candidates.

Kotarac responded that Leanne Redden only announced her retirement eight days earlier. “The immediate results that are deliverable to the public need a CEO who’s accountable,” he said. “And having someone with Jamie’s stature having stepped in for us to take those responsibilities is something I think honestly we’re blessed with.” Ultimately, all the directors except Alvarez voted for her.

Rhee then entered the room. “I am deeply honored to step into this role, and I want you to know that I take this responsibility very seriously,” she told the board. “My career has been spend leading large, complex organizations through moments of challenge, transformation, and growth, and I bring that same steadiness and strategic focus to NITA. I come to this work with humility, and with respect for the professionals who operate this system every day. I also come with lived experiences. For years, transit was my lifeline to get to school, work, and places that shaped my life.”

During the public comment period, Better Street’s Kyle Lucas, did a good job of summarizing the challenges, and expectations the NITA board will face. “Congratulations on quite the momentous day,” he told the directors. “This is a day that is pretty emotional for people like me. I’m an organizer with Better Streets Chicago, and we fought all last year, tirelessly, alongside residents across the entire region, to save our public transit. But not just save our public transit, but to ensure that there was a mandate to bring us into the future, to start fresh, and ensure that we aren’t repeating the mistakes of the past.”

Marching down Randolph Street towards the State of Illinois Offices during Save Transit Rally in July 2025. Photo: Paul Goyette

“It’s also really important that each and every one of you are taking their task seriously every single day,” Lucas added. “I also implore you to work with communities and with advocates to push forward a vision for the future of transit. What I can promise you is that we will hold you accountable. And that’s not a threat – that’s just a promise. Because Chicagoans have seen what happens when transit isn’t accountable, and they’re not satisfied with the status quo anymore. That’s why NITA is here.”

“So thank you for dedicating your time to this service, and we look forward to working with you to build a bright future for transit in Chicago,” Lucas concluded.

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