CTA Tattler

This is hopeful, at least for now. The mayor, perhaps prodded by the possibility of hosting the Olympics, seems to be facing the fact that there's no more ignoring the sorry state of the transit system. Huberman seems like a get-it-done kind of guy. Hope the legislature gives him a vote of confidence (and hope he follows through by getting it done...real improvement in CTA operations).

Huberman seems like a bright guy and is fresh blood.

Though I think many would like to see the CTA headed by someone with a few stars on their shoulders, a person of that calliber can always work along side Huberman to bring the CTA into the 21st century.

I hope it works out, for all of our sakes.

Nowhere to go but up!

We couldn't have gotten someone with one ounce of transit experience, huh? Just another Daley aide.

That said, I wonder about the timing of this. Perhaps Springfield said "not a dime while Kruesi runs the show"

Sam Zell..... are you there????

Kruesi is transitioning to the 2016 Olympics Head spot.

be careful what you wish for. anyone with a memory that extends to before 1997 will recall that frank kruesi has been the only cta head in a generation who has NOT initiated large-scale service cuts. in fact he is the first CTA head since the agency started in 1947 who has actually overseen a GROWTH of the bus fleet. he is the first CTA head who has overseen GROWTH in both bus and rail ridership during his tenure. he may be an unlikable person, but he's the first one who actually made transit funding a widely publicized issue rather than quietly cutting service in ways that only transit customers noticed. all of you who are glad to see him go may wind up wishing he had stayed when your service is not just threatened to be cut as a move to attract attention to the issue of transit funding but actually cut in the name of "efficiency".

Huberman looks like another worthless hack to me. A Daley loyalist/patronage worker.

CTA hell continues....Daley doesn't give a flying F about the people of this city.

SIMPLE STRIKES AGAIN!! He doesn't realize that Kruesi took over only after Mosena instituted the 1997 service cuts, and then decided to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. There were rumors that Mosena's only function was to institute those cuts and pave the way for Kruesi, and while one can't prove that one way or the other, simple ignores history by making his or her statement, as well as ignores the threatened 2005 Doomsday budget and the statement now posted in the Tribune: "Most recently, Kruesi has been preparing another doomsday plan of service cuts and possible fare increases that would kick in midyear if the legislature and the governor fail to provide a state bailout of transit."

Also, I see that Daley agreed with Tony C. regarding using the term "scapegoat," but he apparently decided to move Frank out, anyway.

simple, so you're telling me that a bureaucrat would aim to cut service for "efficiency," thereby reducing the influence/power/money given to his bureaucracy. Nice straw man. I wasn't born yesterday.

as much as I don't like the CTA leadership, this sounds like a horrible decision with the new guy. His only experience was driving a bus years and years ago. He's probably another CTA leadership who doesn't ride the rails. Thanks Daley for killing the Olympic bid with this.

Did anyone notice the CTA board had a meeting scheduled for April 11th but postponed it until the 23rd? I wonder if they have known this was coming and did it in order to be able to approve the new guy on Monday. Very smart of Frank to leave now, got 3-track going and can get away before it all falls apart.

I can almost guarantee you this had less to do with Daley listening to his citizens and more to do with a political deal. I bet Chicago's legislators were feeling the pressure and insisted on having Frank go bye bye in exchange for any kind of new funding. If I'm right, it's a win-win: Frank's gone, and there's going to be new money for transit!

So the CTA is going to be run by a political hack with no transit experience? Wow. Be still my heart. What a celebration we should be having.

What's next? A horse show judge in charge of FEMA?

How about hiring someone based on their ability to do the job instead of based on how much they contribute to the political machine?

This is just another case of political hackery getting in the way of getting the job done.

Anyone want to bet that the e-mails discussing this move are already "lost"?

Management, management, management. Finally, we have a guy with a business degree who understands how to RUN something. Who cares if he's driven a bus - wake up people!

It's never been about competence, it's about having the political mandate to make the organizational and labor changes everyone knows is necessary. If Kruesi was unable to get it done in Springfield and City Hall, and if Huberman IS given that mandate, then CTA's bottom line could certainly improve significantly, albeit still with substantial (10% or more) service cuts.

That still says very little about cracked rails, rotting track structures, failing switches, broke-down buses, loud rail cars with broken doors, and crusty stations; no matter how great a manager the CTA has, none of those will improve significantly systemwide without a serious increase in capital investment.

That's nuts - it's totally about competence. In the mornings, I get off at the Lake Stop on the Red Line. Every day there is a woman sitting in a chair reading a book at the far end of the platform with a “Security” vest on. Doing nothing. Maybe if he CTA had a clue about making people work, or better used the money they do have insead of wasting it on “security guards”, the system wouldn’t be in such horrible shape to begin with. Competence will get you a long way.

I understand that there are a ton of things about the CTA to complain about, but it seems to me that people are so bitter that they can't even recognize the positive change that bringing in huberman will have. The guy has a business school background, he's all about law and order, and his driving force is efficiency. It's exactly what the CTA needs. Who cares if he has a background in transportation. This job is all about management, and that's what huberman knows how to do.

Transit experience does not mean someone who's driven a bus. And since when has education been a substitute for experience?

You wouldn't put someone with no experience in health care in charge of a hospital just because he has a degree in business. Nor would you hire someone without any retail experience to run a retail chain. Or someone who knows nothing about manufacturing to head a manufacturing company.

Someone who's quaifications include a college degree, and an ability to kiss butt, but has no experence in the industry that a particular business is in is not qualified to run that business.

"No experience needed" is something you see in postings for entry-level jobs. The guy at the top better darn well have experience, or else you're just setting everything up for failure.

In most cities, such an important position being open would spur a nationwide search for the most qualified candidate, with interim management being provided by professionals familiar with the organization. And someone with no experience would not be put in such an important positon.

The CTA and it's customers deserve better than a political hack at it's helm. And that more people aren't outraged by this turn of events is nothing more than a foreshadowing of the inevitale doom that faces the CTA.

The most important change that needs to be made at the CTA is the top jobs need to go to qualified, experienced people instead of political hacks.