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Technically, the mayor doesn’t have the authority to appoint the CTA’s president, who acts as the agency’s chief executive officer, overseeing day-to-day operations. That power belongs to the CTA’s seven board members, four of whom are appointed by the mayor, three by the governor.
Granted, CTA board members have shown a little more conscientiousness than their counterparts at the Park District or Board of Education. They’ve gone along with some of the mayor’s daffier transportation schemes, like selling Wilson Yard for cheap or building an underground station at Block 37 for an airport express service that will probably never get used. But at least they’ve shown some discomfort over the hardships Kruesi’s mismanagement has caused the CTA’s commuters. In contrast, school and Park District board members cheerfully look the other way while Daley loots property tax dollars from their coffers to feed his TIFs.
