* Tribune transit reporter Talia Soglin…
* Daily Herald…
At the inaugural meeting of the NITA board, directors chose transportation expert Tom Kotarac as its chair.
“This is something really rare. A genuine opportunity for a fresh start,” said Kotarac, who previously served as a Regional Transportation Authority director.
The fledgling agency replaces the RTA as a result of the [Northern Illinois Transit Authority] Act, passed in 2025. It gives NITA greater authority over Metra, Pace and the CTA in terms of fares, planning and finances.
Along with added clout, NITA will receive an millions of additional dollars through a sales tax increase and transfers of state gas sales tax funds.
Much is expected of NITA, from reducing crime on the CTA to delivering a universal fare system to finding efficiencies and cutting spending.
* Rep. Kam Buckner…
* The Sun-Times…
NITA has several requirements and a timeline to complete them.
- “Unify” fares by 2030. This will eliminate needing to buy a second ticket at full price to transfer from, say, Metra to CTA.
- Coordinate service. The RTA had limited power to ensure bus and rail service overlapped in a way that made sense. NITA, however, can plan service, bus and rail investments, and set fares.
- Vote next June on whether to create a transit police department. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is leading a task force to research the issue. He has said it would be an easy, though costly, option.
- Deploy trained customer service representatives called “transit ambassadors” by July 2027.
- Mandate electric buses. The law prohibits CTA and Pace from buying any new gas-powered buses, with a few exceptions.
- Create a system to develop property near transit hubs. NITA has new powers to buy and sell land to encourage “transit-oriented development,” the idea that walkable property near transit ought to be used for people and business.
* Related…
* Tribune | Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle proposes new transit board members: Preckwinkle’s proposed CTA appointees are Tom Kotarac, a current member of the Regional Transportation Authority board, and Ann Kalayil, associate vice president of facilities and construction at Columbia College Chicago and the former bureau chief of asset management for the county. If approved, Kotarac — who was appointed to the RTA board by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — would serve on both the CTA board and the NITA board for three years. Kalayil would serve only on the CTA’s board for her five-year term. Kotarac has served on the RTA board since fall 2024. He leads the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago’s transportation work and previously worked at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning as well as for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. Preckwinkle called him a “senior transportation and infrastructure strategist with more than two decades of experience shaping major regional and federal policy initiatives.”
