Ex-CTA board chair Lester Barclay, a NITA Act skeptic, unanimously elected as new CTA chair under NITA

“Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss”

– “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who, 1971

The intention of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority act that passed last Halloween was not only to save Chicagoland public transportation from fiscal ruin, but also to dramatically reform the system. The goal is to make the CTA, Metra, and Pace more coordinated, more reliable, more efficient, safer, cleaner, more affordable, and more pleasant to ride.

So it seems ironic that during today’s debut meeting of the new CTA board under NITA, the seven directors simply reelected the CTA’s previous board chair, Lester Barclay, a family law attorney. After then-mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed him to the board in 2021, he oversaw the final years of ex-CTA president Dorval Carter’s tenure, when there was broad agreement that the transit agency was declining in most of those metrics. The Illinois Senate will need to confirm his new board chair appointment.

On the other hand, today the CTA directors were also in universal agreement that former CTA board Neema Jha should serve as the vice chair. She will, in effect, serve as a check and balance for Barclay.

Previous opposition to Barclay rejoining the new CTA board

So how did we get here? After Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated Barclay for both the new CTA and NITA boards – as well as previous CTA board member Pastor Michael Eaddy to the new CTA board – there was opposition from many transit advocates and some alders.

At a Committee on Transportation and Public Way hearing before the final Council votes on the nominations, transit analyst Nik Hunder noted that records show Barclay used his free CTA pass less than once a week in 2025, while Eaddy swiped his only 36 times that year.

Hunder also pointed out that after the NITA law passed, Barclay wrote an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune arguing that the new governance format would reduce the CTA’s independence, and the mayor’s control of the agency. “Why should somebody who doesn’t really seem to like the system that he oversees be rewarded with an even greater board appointment?” Hunder asked during the committee meeting.

“I support the reforms enacted by the new law and fully embrace the spirit of regional coordination that they represent,” Barclay later said during the hearing. “Regional coordination and independent board governance are not competing ideas.”

At the hearing, Committee Vice Chair Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), the City Council’s most vocal critic of Dorval Carter’s tenure, also questioned whether Barclay actually supported NITA despite writing an op-ed that criticized it. And when Barclay mentioned that he had discussed concerns about CTA service with alders, Vasquez noted that those were private conversations. “None of that was being held to the public, who was expecting a level of transparency,” the alder said.

After the nominations passed in committee and went on to the full Council, Vasquez was one of 18 alders who voted against Barclay for the CTA and NITA boards, but he was narrowly approved for the positions. Eaddy was also confirmed.

Barclay’s reelection to CTA board president

Not only did Barclay rejoin the CTA board today, but he was chosen to lead it once again. Unsurprisingly, Eaddy nominated him. The new directors all voted yes.

“Thank you to my board colleagues for both your support and confidence, and for the opportunity to serve as chairman again,” Barclay said in response. “I know this role, but I also recognize that the moment we’re in is unlike any we’ve faced before. This new era will ask more of us as leaders, and I’m honored and ready to take on that responsibility with all of you.”

After a few of the new directors congratulated Barklay, acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen also gave Barklay her best wishes. “This is a wonderful bridge between our two eras here at CTA,” she said. “And I’m so excited that you know our team, you know where we’ve been, and you can carry us where we’re headed. I think great times lay ahead.” So, congratulations so much.”

Jha is elected vice chair

CTA board director Nedra Sims Fears, who leads the Greater Chatham Initiative and was nominated to the CTA and NITA boards by Governor JB Pritzker, then nominated fellow gubernatorial nominee Neema Jha for vice chair. Jha, who works on technology implementation at Charles River Associates, and previously worked at Amason Web Services and the Tribune Media Company, has a strong tech background. Sims Fears said Jha would help balance control of the board.

“It’s critical that our vice chair and chair be leaders who are ready to meet this moment, who are willing to embrace reform rather than preserve the status quo, which we know was not working, and contributed to the making of NITA Act necessary,” Sims Fears said. “We knew that CTA was struggling early on to address workforce shortages that directly compromise scheduled service… For months, the agency failed to sufficiently expand hiring and training for bus and rail operators, even as it maintained that no scheduled service had been reduced. The previous board chair at the time did not hold the agency accountable for the gap.”

“The former chair publicly opposed elements of the NITA act, and so I’m really pleased that we now have a new opportunity to have a chair and to have a vice chair that brings a different perspective,” Sims Fears added. “And her wonderful tech background, which we are going to significantly need as we face this challenge of integrating systems so that they all work together.”

After Jha was unanimously elected, she addressed the room. “I’m grateful and honored to serve as vice chair of this board,” she said. “I’m prepared for this responsibility as I bring four years of experience serving on this board, alongside with two decades of leading large, complex organizations to technology transformation. During my time here, I have worked to provide independent oversight. I tried to push for stronger accountability around accessibility investments, whether it’s technology or not, and an overall rider experience.”

“Riders don’t experience CTA, Metra or Pace as separate institutions,” Jha added. “They experience whether their trip works, and this is why this moment matters. With NITA, we have a rare opportunity to transform how transit works across our region.”

I’ve asked Hunder, Ald. Vasquez and a few advocates to comment on today’s events and will update this post if I hear from them.

Thanks to the Tribune’s Talia Soglin, whose coverage of the meeting influenced this article.

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