(The Associated Press circulated the following on May 1.)
CHICAGO — Mayor Richard M. Daley’s former chief of staff was named Tuesday as the new head of the Chicago Transit Authority, the nation’s second-largest transit system.
The CTA board voted to approve Ron Huberman’s appointment less than two weeks after Daley recommended he be hired. Huberman replaces Frank Kruesi, who resigned April 19 after almost a decade in the job.
Kruesi’s resignation came amid a massive railway reconstruction project and complaints about service on the buses and trains that serve 1.5 million riders a day.
”It is vital that Chicago’s public transportation system be financially sound and healthy and I look forward to taking the CTA the next step of the way,” Huberman said in a written statement.
A recent audit by the Illinois auditor general found that the CTA and its sister agencies in the region — Metra rail and Pace suburban bus service — have operating and capital needs this year of $800 million to $1 billion.
The mass transit systems are looking for federal and state money to fill the gaping holes in their budgets.