Committee on Strategic Planning and Service Delivery; Committee on Finance, Audit and Budget; Chicago Transit Board

Chicago Transit Authority

Transportation

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022
10:00 a.m. CST

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Remote

This is a remote assignment to document the following back-to-back meetings:

9:30 a.m.: Committee on Strategic Planning and Service Delivery
[Immediately following] Committee on Finance, Audit & Budget
10 a.m.: Regular Board Meeting of Chicago Transit Board

Remote meetings of the CTA board are live-streamed at https://www.youtube.com/user/CTAConnections/videos. The video may not appear until at or a few minutes after the scheduled start time. If you do not see it right away give it a few moments and try refreshing the webpage.

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Stephen Yoshida

Infrastructure bill, 31st St. bus route, Red and Purple Line modernization, Transit riders union

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Live reporting by Jennifer Bamberg

Infrastructure bill, 31st St. bus route, Red and Purple Line modernization, Transit riders union

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites

Good morning. Gunna be live tweeting the @cta's Regular Board Meeting of Chicago Transit Board for @CHIdocumenters . It’s just getting started on live stream at youtube.com/watch?v=MQt2UC… if you want to follow along.

09:55 AM Feb 9, 2022 CST

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 2/17

@cta President Carter just finished talking to the board about funding and how to find more sources for the struggling public transit system. Here's some more graphs on finances. https://t.co/bzw604QfAT

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 3/17

The federal relief funds are expected to last until 2024. https://t.co/OTV4FpXw5H

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 4/17

The CTA apparently trades in the futures trading. Here's three commodities that they invest in as a way to bring in more funding.

Why can't the CTA invest in renewable energy if it purports to make their bus fleet all-electric by the year 2040? https://t.co/R200IlCmNA

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 5/17

Forgot to include the meeting agenda: chicago.documenters.org/documents/agen…

The seven board members are currently going through each agenda item, all of which so far have to do with contracts. Each board member says that they have "no questions" about each item, and we move on to the next.

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 6/17

The board is discussing an item about a program that will let small businesses know how to become contractors for the CTA. Pres Carter says w/ the infrastructure bill, the CTA will get more funding to expand the pipeline of potential small business contractors.

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 7/17

Interesting is the lack of discussion about Women/Minority Business Enterprise Certification, although board member Rosa Ortiz says she hopes that equity will be emphasized in this program.

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 8/17

Even as ridership dips, public transportation remains a crucial part of our city's economic engine, President Carter said earlier. The @cta was awarded $912.1M in Federal Rescue Plan Funds to help prevent layoffs and help pay for infrastructure updates.
chicago.suntimes.com/2022/2/8/22924…

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 9/17

Also, the Regular Board meeting is just now beginning. Their schedule today is as follows. These times are rough estimates:
9:30: Committee on Strategic Planning and Service Delivery &Committee on Finance, Audit & Budget
10 a.m Regular Board Meeting of Chicago Transit Board

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 10/17

Board members are hearing a presentation about track improvement projects at O'Hare and the Jackson Park line over 63rd st. O'Hare is getting new switch boards and the green line is getting new structural steel supports. https://t.co/5eW88GnU9z

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 11/17

Board members are hearing a presentation from Senior Vice President of Infrastructure Chris Bushel, who’s showing us some very impressive photos of the progress at Lawrence Brywn Mawr. Check out this giant gantry crane and the crazy big machines used to lift and carry tracks. https://t.co/ARfhAcKFnG

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 12/17

One of the board members asks, "Wasn't there a contest to name the gantry crane?" Chris Bushel answers that it hasn't been named yet.

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 13/17

The meeting just adjourned, but I need to mention the most important part before we go!!!

The board approved to authorize the permanent adoption of the #31 bus route on 31st Street!!

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 14/17

It will now run from Cicero to Museum Campus on 31st Street from morning til evening.

The route was canceled in '97 due to low ridership, but community groups organized to demand the CTA bring it back, and it was relaunched as a pilot in 2016.

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 15/17

The board read a letter from a pastor in Bridgeport thanking them for recognizing the importance of the route for seniors, students, families, & other near south siders from Little Village, Brighton Pk, McKinley Pk, Bridgeport, & China Town who united to make this happen.

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 16/17

Also, wanted to mention that the board members acknowledged Transit Equity Day on Feb 4th, commemorating the life and legacy of Rosa Parks on her birthday and her unfinished work to end inequities in transportation.

Jennifer Bamberg @j_bambergwrites 17/17

And with that, I'm signing off. Give @CHIdocumenters and @city_bureau a follow if you don't already, and take care.

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