CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. was known to City Council members for his tone-deaf failure to respond to riders and their elected representatives.
His steadfast refusal to respond to their questions about ghost buses and other service and safety issues forced Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) to push a resolution compelling Carter’s quarterly testimony before the Council.
That kind of foot-dragging won’t happen again, if City Clerk Anna Valenica has her way.
Valencia joined forces with Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) on Wednesday in introducing a resolution that could set the stage for an already emboldened Council to exercise greater authority of other agencies of local government.
Those agencies include the CTA, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Park District and City Colleges of Chicago.
All those so-called “sister agencies” have their own boards and their own budgets. And while CPS is transitioning to a fully-elected Board of Education, board members at the other agencies are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Council.
Other than that, however, the Council has no other authority over those “sister agencies.”
Valencia believes a change is long overdue.
She wants to shine more light on those other agencies, whose operations have a huge impact on how Chicagoans live, play and get to work and how well and where their children are educated.
“What’s the notice time to all City Council members and the public when a board member is appointed? Are there certain requirements they need to adhere to? Do they have experience to go onto that board?” Valencia said.
“What are the reporting requirements? Should the CEO or the president and board chair do a state of their agency? Just like the mayor does a budget address, should they come and talk about their fiscal outlook, their public safety plans or operational plans?”
Too often, that crucial information is either not shared at all or distributed to Council members and their counterparts in the Illinois General Assembly during closed-door briefings, Valencia said.
There is no “regular cadence” of information-sharing with everyday Chicagoans, Valencia said, adding that it’s no wonder distrust in government at all levels is at an all-time high.
“As a mom, I care about our school system deeply. I care about our parks being clean and safe for my daughter to be able to play by herself with her friends. And I care about whether we can ride transit without fearing for the safety of my daughter and seeing people do drugs on it,” Valencia said.
“The work that our sister agencies do is really important. And I want to know that the board members being approved by City Council are experts in their field and are going to hold accountable the CEO and sister agency because that’s not always been the case.”
Valencia’s resolution directs the Council’s Committee on Ethics and Government Operations, chaired by Ald. Matt Martin (47th), to create a subcommittee charged with “examining the process for appointing board members at sister agencies and establishing best practices relating to transparency, accountability and the democratic process.”
It doesn’t demand quarterly testimony by agency heads, as Vasquez did in his resolution, Valencia acknowledged, but she added: “There’s gonna be a new CTA president coming in. There’ll be a new CPS CEO coming in. Are they still gonna be doing that? Or are they gonna come kicking and screaming?”
Appointed by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel to fill the void created when then-clerk Susana Mendoza was elected state comptroller, Valencia was once seen as a rising star in Chicago and Illinois politics with seemingly limitless possibilities for higher office, including mayor or governor.
Those high hopes came crashing down in her race for secretary of state. She finished second with 34.4%, despite endorsements from Gov. J.B. Pritzker and retiring Secretary of State Jesse White.
Alexi Giannoulias got the nomination with 52.7% of the primary vote, and went on to win in the fall.
A prolific fundraiser, Giannoulias is now laying the groundwork for a race for mayor against incumbent Brandon Johnson in 2027.
Wednesday’s resolution could be a baby step toward putting Valencia on another collision course with Giannoulias in that race. Or it could just be a small step toward restoring public trust.
Over the years, Chicago mayors have used the CTA and RTA boards in particular as political dumping grounds to reward their cronies.
Mass transit expertise seldom factors into the equation.
In May 2024, the Rev. Ira Acree was nominated to the RTA board by Mayor Brandon Johnson despite a lack of expertise in mass transit. Acree stunned alderpersons during his confirmation hearing when he said he was unaware of the $730 million fiscal cliff facing Chicago-area mass transit agencies.’s nominee.
He later withdrew his name, saying those who called him unqualified were “opponents of African American empowerment.”