MAYOR – Mayor Brandon Johnson’s five candidates to join a powerful transit control board had a much easier ride at a city hearing Monday than the previous hopeful, who withdrew amid criticism that he had no experience for the job .

Johnson’s new appointment to the Regional Transportation Authority board was approved by the City Council’s Public Transportation Committee on Monday. Their endorsement comes after West Side pastor Ira Acree didn’t take his name into consideration for the following board seat A bumpy trial in MayHe admitted that he rarely attends the CTA, adding that this is “the first time he’s heard of it.” local transportation’s looming $730 million fiscal cliff.

Many of the new candidates were praised for their experience in transit or related fields. It passed unanimously out of committee, with everyone except Jarixon Medina, pastor at New Life Covenant Church’s Spanish-speaking campus in Humboldt Park; He, like Acree, was interrogated for his lack of good faith in professional public transport duties.

The Regional Transportation Authority oversees CTA, Pace, and Metra. The 16-member board is tasked with approving the annual budget as well as two-year financial and five-year capital plans that fund three public transit agencies.

Two transportation authority board seats appointed by Johnson have been vacant since March and June; even if the board voted for the measures such as approving hundreds of millions of bonds issued by the CTA.An important step in financing long-promised Red Line extension project. The other three seats are being vacated.

Appointments still require full City Council approval, which could come as early as Wednesday. Their future term will last until 2027 or 2028.

At Monday’s hearing, Medina said he stopped relying on the CTA regularly after his family bought a second car three years ago. Pastor dodged questions about local transportation’s fiscal cliff and proposed unification of regional systemsHe said it would be best suited as a voice for ordinary drivers, such as those who attend his church.

Transportation committee chairman Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th), vice chairman Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) and Ald. Bill Conway (34th) voted against Medina’s appointment.

“I cannot support you in this vote… But I would like to partner with you to understand what the plan would look like in terms of getting the necessary community input,” Vasquez told Medina. “You will talk to your neighbors in a way that I don’t think other people would talk about, and I think that’s very important in this role.”

Those appointed are:

• Dennis Monderomanaging director of the China Mutual Aid Association and a former CTA executive who helped develop the agency train chaser. Mondero also served on Johnson’s transportation-focused transition subcommittee.
• Natasha E. JenkinsA corporate and local government attorney who works at CTA to resolve labor disputes. Jenkins said he would be the “safety spokesperson” on the RTA board.
• Nora Cay RyanThe CTA is a vice president of the Chicago Federation of Labor who has worked with the presidents of the largest rail and bus unions.
• Thomas G. Kotarac, He is senior vice president for transportation and infrastructure at the Chicago Commercial Club Civic Committee and a former administrator at the Chicago Metropolitan Planning Agency.
• MedinaLead pastor of the Spanish-speaking campus of New Life Covenant Church.

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said he was refreshed by the candidates after Acree’s hearing, which he called “frankly humiliating.”

CTA oversight board seats have also long been reserved as privileged positions for politically connected individuals. Of the more than 50 appointments made to the CTA oversight board over the past 40 years, only three were transportation experts. Block Club was previously announced. And in April, another priest with political connections Appointed to CTA board of directors.

State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) — hosted A series of hearings on a proposal to merge CTA, Pace and Metra morphed into a single agency as the fiscal cliff looms — voiced his support for the candidates on social media platform X in a message shared by Regional Transportation Authority Chairman Kirk Dillard on social media platform X.

“I am encouraged by the nominated group,” Villivalam wrote. “They represent a diversity of perspectives, from business to labor and beyond.”

Most appointees didn’t weigh in when asked about the possible transit agency merger, but Ryan said he would oppose it and added that the regional transit board “should be the one to bring them together.” Kotarac said better integration of services between the three institutions could be achieved.

Kotarac said the CTA “needs to make a concerted effort to show that they are trying to have a savings plan” when approaching state lawmakers to close the budget gap.

Some alders opposed the Johnson administration’s quest to quickly accept candidates for the board after some seats remained vacant for months even with critical RTA votes.

Transportation committee members were not notified of the candidates scheduled to appear Monday morning until the Friday afternoon before, Conway said.

“I can’t reiterate enough how unusual it is to be nominated on such short notice,” Conway said. “It is my understanding that you have all been given no further information than this.”

Five-year appointment to RTA board pays $25,000 annually and requires members to attend monthly meetings.

Block Club’s Manny Ramos contributed reporting.

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