New CTA President

[Busjack]

I put it like this on Wednesday November 11th, 2015, we can give the new president a 6 month review on his performance at that point. Right now, we are all suggesting and leading to conclusions before the man even gets in office. Give it time and on that magical date, we can discuss what has been accomplished, what needs to be worked on and what suggestions can be voiced.

Until then, digress..............................

​That's fair. Claypool proved within 6 months that he didn't know or care what he was doing, and foreshadowed that by walking out on the CTA Tattler "I'll answer questions" session in July, 2011.

....

The one thing Hilkevitch didn't mention was changing the wretched seat arrangement on the 5000 series cars. It's caused enormous crowding on the trains in rush hours as no one wants to be crushed between a wide person & a stanchion, so numerous seats are empty!

​That gets down to whether one believes Claypool's statement that nothing could be done. He was sure adamant about that with about 300 cars to go, even though they could change the signs and the seats from beige to blue. Of course,the question is whether that was Claypool being Emanuel, or there is underseat equipment that precludes it. The rail engineer was willing to say something different for the 7000s, but not changing the 5000s mid order.

[strictures]

 

That gets down to whether one believes Claypool's statement that nothing could be done. He was sure adamant about that with about 300 cars to go, even though they could change the signs and the seats from beige to blue. Of course,the question is whether that was Claypool being Emanuel, or there is underseat equipment that precludes it. The rail engineer was willing to say something different for the 7000s, but not changing the 5000s mid order.

​In the middle of the 5000 cars, there is an air intake for the HVAC system, under the seats. It's rectangular & is installed longwise against the outer wall of the cars. That's why, when the first seating layout of the 7000s came out, there was a two or three person seat sideways along the wall, between forward, backwards seats.

But for the rest of the cars, there's nothing in the way, other than the sideways seats by the doors. It would be easy to use a cantilevered seat, just like on all the buses.

Only the foolishness of not wanting to make their predecessors look stupid, prevents them from changing them to a 2600 or 3200 layout.

[Busjack]

​In the middle of the 5000 cars, there is an air intake for the HVAC system, under the seats. It's rectangular & is installed longwise against the outer wall of the cars. That's why, when the first seating layout of the 7000s came out, there was a two or three person seat sideways along the wall, between forward, backwards seats....

​I'm not sure to what you are referring with regard to the 7000s layout, unless you are referring to an earlier diagram. This one appears to show a 3200 style 1 x 2 arrangement in the center; the only differences between it an a 3200 is that the wheelchair positions are inside of the doors instead of by the cab and the seats by the cab are longitudinal. Longitudinal seats have been used where the doors slide into the pockets since that style of door has been used.

[strictures]

​I'm not sure to what you are referring with regard to the 7000s layout, unless you are referring to an earlier diagram. This one appears to show a 3200 style 1 x 2 arrangement in the center; the only differences between it an a 3200 is that the wheelchair positions are inside of the doors instead of by the cab and the seats by the cab are longitudinal. Longitudinal seats have been used where the doors slide into the pockets since that style of door has been used.

​I'm referring to the original seat layout when the 7000s were announced. I'm not sure where to find that diagram, but Hilkevitch did put it in an article. They had a 2600 layout, but in the middle of the cars there was to be one sideways seat on each side, for either two or three people, because if they were going to be the same design as the 5000s, there was the long air intake under the seats. On the 2400 & 2600s, the air intake fits under a standard, two person seat. In the 5000s, that intake is turned 90 degrees & won't fit under a standard seat.

[Busjack]

​I'm referring to the original seat layout when the 7000s were announced. I'm not sure where to find that diagram, but Hilkevitch did put it in an article....

​I had guessed that it was a different one, so thanks.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

Dorval Carter is now retiring on January 31st after being CTA president for nearly 10 years.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/01/13/cta-boss-dorval-carter-retires-after-years-of-mounting-pressure-over-struggling-transit-service/

[Busjack]

12 minutes ago, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

Dorval Carter is now retiring on January 31st after being CTA president for nearly 10 years.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/01/13/cta-boss-dorval-carter-retires-after-year-of-mounting-pressure-over-struggling-transit-service/

• Like most nonprofits' journalists and activists, Block Club Chicago and C[itizens] T[aking] A[ction] (how unoriginal) seemingly take partial credit for inducing him to resign and think the next one will be better. Which brings us to...
• If the chaos at CPS is any indication, whatever stooge Johnson or his stooges on the CT Board bring in won't be better.

This makes it as good a time as any to pass the Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act. Maybe the CTA activist organization will change its name to Morons Making Anuses (of themselves) ☺️.

Thanks for finding this.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

4 minutes ago, Busjack said:

• Like most nonprofits' journalists and activists, Block Club Chicago and C[itizens] T[aking] A[ction] (how unoriginal) seemingly take partial credit for inducing him to resign and think the next one will be better. Which brings us to...
• If the chaos at CPS is any indication, whatever stooge Johnson or his stooges on the CT Board bring in won't be better.

This makes it as good a time as any to pass the Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act. Maybe the CTA activist organization will change its name to Morons Making Anuses (of themselves) ☺️.

Thanks for finding this.

No problem, I just happened to find it and am excited for new leadership at CTA and how the new president will be with the current issues that's going on.

[Busjack]

7 minutes ago, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

No problem, I just happened to find it and am excited for new leadership at CTA and how the new president will be with the current issues that's going on.

As I indicated, don't get your hopes up.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

35 minutes ago, Busjack said:

As I indicated, don't get your hopes up.

Yes you are right there might be a president whos almost like Dorval

[jajuan]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

• Like most nonprofits' journalists and activists, Block Club Chicago and C[itizens] T[aking] A[ction] (how unoriginal) seemingly take partial credit for inducing him to resign and think the next one will be better. Which brings us to...
• If the chaos at CPS is any indication, whatever stooge Johnson or his stooges on the CT Board bring in won't be better.

This makes it as good a time as any to pass the Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act. Maybe the CTA activist organization will change its name to Morons Making Anuses (of themselves) ☺️.

Thanks for finding this.

That last part is hilarious, but I do agree with you. 😂 I just spotted the story on this from WGN. I definitely don't have my hopes up about reforming transit in the region without state action at this point.

[Tcmetro]

Carter wasn't exactly a visionary before the pandemic, but the past five years were basically crisis mode and try to get it fixed. I think the recovery could have been managed better, but at least full service has been restored which most cities haven't achieved yet.

There were many worse CTA presidents in the past, so I am hoping for the best.

The upcoming fiscal cliff is going to be even harder to figure out than the pandemic recovery so I'm not surprised Carter has decided to leave. We'll see if the MMA happens - it's going to be one of the bigger news stories this year.

[Busjack]

3 hours ago, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

Yes you are right there might be a president whos almost like Dorval

No, I meant that there could be a president who is more like Kruesi, Huberman, and Claypool, but probably a preacher, or engaged in a conflict of interest, like Belcaster (who resigned after it was exposed that he had invested in Ballard Power Systems while CTA was testing the 3 fuel cell buses with Ballard systems; see this Tribune article of the time). I take it you are too young to remember them, but an search this forum for their antics, such as Kruesi proposing a Sunday schedule 7 days a week, which would have ended service in many areas, and Huberman covering up why he needed150 articulated buses, although Claypool, an Emanuel lackey, met his Peter Principle end when made CPS CEO by Rahm.

If you are counting on Johnson or this board recruiting an experienced transit official, I don't think the MTA or MBTA are run so well, either. But maybe Stacy Davis Gates can run the CTA.

[strictures]

17 hours ago, Busjack said:

 But maybe Stacy Davis Gates can run the CTA.

She couldn't even run a one car parade!

[YoungBusLover]

18 hours ago, Busjack said:

No, I meant that there could be a president who is more like Kruesi, Huberman, and Claypool, but probably a preacher, or engaged in a conflict of interest, like Belcaster (who resigned after it was exposed that he had invested in Ballard Power Systems while CTA was testing the 3 fuel cell buses with Ballard systems; see this Tribune article of the time). I take it you are too young to remember them, but an search this forum for their antics, such as Kruesi proposing a Sunday schedule 7 days a week, which would have ended service in many areas, and Huberman covering up why he needed150 articulated buses, although Claypool, an Emanuel lackey, met his Peter Principle end when made CPS CEO by Rahm.

If you are counting on Johnson or this board recruiting an experienced transit official, I don't think the MTA or MBTA are run so well, either. But maybe Stacy Davis Gates can run the CTA.

Bringing back one of these two from the dead or someone with there incompetence "cough cough Claypool" would be a complete disaster.  

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, YoungBusLover said:

Bringing back one of these two from the dead or someone with there incompetence "cough cough Claypool" would be a complete disaster.  

 

Which brings up a journalistic observation. All news outlets base their stories on the CTA Press Release, but swapped out the awards paragraph with their individual list of gripes. Either APTA officers slap each other on the back, or there isn't anyone better.

[pudgym29]

Who is it going to be? This guy who was the mayor of Milwaukee, WI. (and got a fawning article on Streetsblog Chicago)? Is there any transit professional who would want to become the CEO of a Chicago transit agency facing at least four years of extremely limited funds {if any!} from the Federal government?

[Busjack]

57 minutes ago, pudgym29 said:

facing at least four years of extremely limited funds {if any!} from the Federal government?

Not to mention that the CTA may be abolished if Chris Welch, Ram Villivalam, and a lot of the General Assembly have their way with the MMA. As frequently reported yesterday (e.g. WGN) "Regarding transit, Welch added that reform is needed before Springfield provides Chicago’s regional operators with a lifeline."

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

Nora Leerhsen , president’s chief of staff, will be the acting president starting February 1st

[Shannon tahoeppv]

On 1/13/2025 at 11:10 AM, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

Dorval Carter is now retiring on January 31st after being CTA president for nearly 10 years.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/01/13/cta-boss-dorval-carter-retires-after-years-of-mounting-pressure-over-struggling-transit-service/

Good his ass is leaving maybe somebody who knows how to run a system can come in & make proper schedules & actually speed up the hiring process cause I've had people who mafe it into CTA but they took so dsm long on getting them started they went elsewhere & also cause nobody should have to wait 20-30 mins for a dam bus or train 

[Busjack]

7 minutes ago, Shannon tahoeppv said:

Good his ass is leaving maybe somebody who knows how to run a system can come in & make proper schedules & actually speed up the hiring process cause I've had people who mafe it into CTA but they took so dsm long on getting them started they went elsewhere & also cause nobody should have to wait 20-30 mins for a dam bus or train 

You're talking about management much further down the totem pole from the President. For instance, hiring is under  the VP of Human Resources, which is under the Chief Administrative Officer. Maybe CTA needs a thorough housecleaning, but as I indicated above, I don't think just Carter retiring will result in it.

[Shannon tahoeppv]

22 hours ago, Busjack said:

You're talking about management much further down the totem pole from the President. For instance, hiring is under  the VP of Human Resources, which is under the Chief Administrative Officer. Maybe CTA needs a thorough housecleaning, but as I indicated above, I don't think just Carter retiring will result in it.

They all need to be out & start over with new people 

[Busjack]

18 minutes ago, Shannon tahoeppv said:

They all need to be out & start over with new people 

Yeah, but you are talking about the kind  of mess the Bears are in (fire the offensive coordinator, fire the coach, interview 20 candidates for coach, new coach has to bring in new staff, do you fire the GM because he hired parts or all of the current staff?), Or to put it closer to Brandon Johnson's realm, a puppet, lame duck school board fired  Pedro Martinez, he has 6 months for transition, but they have nobody in line to take over.

Similarly:

• Carter's retirement couldn't have been a surprise; CTA couldn't have had a press release out first thing Monday morning with laudatory quotes from Johnson if things were not planned in advance. But no one is waiting in the wings.
• If Carter won all the APTA awards and people like Metzger said at several Pace Board meetings that Carter did a great job for the region, he couldn't have been that bad or worse than those in similar positions.
• The newspapers are convinced that the Daley II-Emanuel pattern will be followed, and Johnson will pick a President that will be rubber-stamped by the CT Board. Note that I said above that those Presidents (Kruesi, Huberman, and Claypool) were demonstratively incompetent, and the stink over Johnson's attempted appointment of Rev. Acree to the RTA Board shows that Johnson is no better.
• Basically, you are saying throw out this whole organization chart and probably 2 levels of supervision under the VP Bus Operations, VP Service Planning, VP HR, and VP Training. That's not going to happen, or be like the Bears example.

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

Yeah, but you are talking about the kind  of mess the Bears are in (fire the offensive coordinator, fire the coach, interview 20 candidates for coach, new coach has to bring in new staff, do you fire the GM because he hired parts or all of the current staff?), Or to put it closer to Brandon Johnson's realm, a puppet, lame duck school board fired  Pedro Martinez, he has 6 months for transition, but they have nobody in line to take over.

Similarly:

• Carter's retirement couldn't have been a surprise; CTA couldn't have had a press release out first thing Monday morning with laudatory quotes from Johnson if things were not planned in advance. But no one is waiting in the wings.
• If Carter won all the APTA awards and people like Metzger said at several Pace Board meetings that Carter did a great job for the region, he couldn't have been that bad or worse than those in similar positions.
• The newspapers are convinced that the Daley II-Emanuel pattern will be followed, and Johnson will pick a President that will be rubber-stamped by the CT Board. Note that I said above that those Presidents (Kruesi, Huberman, and Claypool) were demonstratively incompetent, and the stink over Johnson's attempted appointment of Rev. Acree to the RTA Board shows that Johnson is no better.
• Basically, you are saying throw out this whole organization chart and probably 2 levels of supervision under the VP Bus Operations, VP Service Planning, VP HR, and VP Training. That's not going to happen, or be like the Bears example.

First. Congratulations to Dorval Carter. 

 

The issue is that public transportation is woefully underfunded in this country.   To make matters worse, politicians want to gain power and wield influence by using transit as a weapon to gain said power.  They use the board to reward loyal cronies  and punish those who don't play ball with them.   Reform is really replacing one group of cronies with another.  People are playing politics while a financial cliff is looking regardless of who is board president,  mayor, state representative,  senator, representative,  or even U.S. President   People are only satisfied with making someone a scapegoat 

[Shannon tahoeppv]

3 hours ago, Busjack said:

Yeah, but you are talking about the kind  of mess the Bears are in (fire the offensive coordinator, fire the coach, interview 20 candidates for coach, new coach has to bring in new staff, do you fire the GM because he hired parts or all of the current staff?), Or to put it closer to Brandon Johnson's realm, a puppet, lame duck school board fired  Pedro Martinez, he has 6 months for transition, but they have nobody in line to take over.

Similarly:

• Carter's retirement couldn't have been a surprise; CTA couldn't have had a press release out first thing Monday morning with laudatory quotes from Johnson if things were not planned in advance. But no one is waiting in the wings.
• If Carter won all the APTA awards and people like Metzger said at several Pace Board meetings that Carter did a great job for the region, he couldn't have been that bad or worse than those in similar positions.
• The newspapers are convinced that the Daley II-Emanuel pattern will be followed, and Johnson will pick a President that will be rubber-stamped by the CT Board. Note that I said above that those Presidents (Kruesi, Huberman, and Claypool) were demonstratively incompetent, and the stink over Johnson's attempted appointment of Rev. Acree to the RTA Board shows that Johnson is no better.
• Basically, you are saying throw out this whole organization chart and probably 2 levels of supervision under the VP Bus Operations, VP Service Planning, VP HR, and VP Training. That's not going to happen, or be like the Bears example.

I'm just saying they need better mfs who can do a better job at managing this entire bus system or make them ride it for 2 weeks straight so they can see how it suck what everyday people have to deal with see they don't know that cause their riding in their 150k cars getting paid big bucks to do nothing