The Metropolitan Mobility Act (MMA) which was introduced before the Illinois General Assembly last year fails to address the most consequential issues plaguing our public transit in Chicago.

Merely rolling three existing agencies into one does nothing to improve the poor working conditions at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), where high turnover and understaffing are delaying service and leaving routes undercrewed. 

By itself, the MMA also fails to provide needed equitable funding that would boost the attractiveness of transit as an alternative to driving. The proposed administrative board resembles the existing hodgepodge of leadership and would provide no advantage to the existing CTA administrative board. 

Absent are the voices of workers and riders. The sole, non-elected, and non-voting representative of organized labor appointed by the governor is not what transit leadership needs. 

What transit leadership needs is for workers and riders to have a direct say in the future of public transit. Through transportation board members elected by and accountable to workers and riders, we will build an equitable, responsive transit system that benefits all. 

While the MMA signals that the legislature is paying some attention to Illinoisan transportation needs, lawmakers must go further than an administrative reshuffle. They must reform and establish a transportation board elected by, and accountable to, workers and riders.