Story By J. Coyden Palmer Posted:02/15/2014 As Metra selected former Chicago Alderman Martin Olberman as its new chairman this week, riders throughout the region are sounding off about poor service this winter. A hearing in Springfield gave lawmakers a chance to grill Metra’s CEO while a meeting in Naperville on…
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A group of Southland state lawmakers were in Washington D.C., on Tuesday, meeting about the proposed South Suburban Airport, according to a press release from U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly. Kelly and the state lawmakers met with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and the Federal Aviation Administration to urge approval of…
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BY ROSALIND ROSSI Transportation Reporter – Updated: February 11, 2014 2:17AM Metra launched a massive customer service survey Monday as it conceded under legislative grilling that only 30 percent of Metra trains were on time during the extreme cold that gripped the Chicago area Jan. 6-7. At least 85,000 riders…
Read MoreBy Jon Hilkevitch Tribune reporter12:05 p.m. CST, February 10, 2014 Metra’s new boss faced an intense grilling Monday at a state hearing looking into the commuter railroad’s massive failures during winter storms. Lawmakers told Metra CEO Don Orseno that their constituents are greatly dissatisfied with Metra’s recent performance and its…
Read MoreFebruary 10, 2014 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — Chicago-area residents are dealing with the bitter cold Monday, especially those who commute. For Metra riders, cold-weather delays have been all too common this winter, and now, state lawmakers want to know why. The Illinois House Mass Transit Committee scheduled a hearing Monday to…
Read MoreBY ROSALIND ROSSI Transportation Reporter January 15, 2014 12:38PM The chairman of the RTA Wednesday ordered a “post-mortem” on weather delays endured by Metra train riders last week, while lawmakers scheduled a hearing on the same topic. The double-whammy of scrutiny erupted just as Metra had seemed to have put…
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By Kate Thayer, Tribune reporter 4:52 pm, January 4, 2014 A few weeks after his plane was shot down near Syria in late 1983, captured U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Robert Goodman recalls hearing of efforts back home to coordinate his release. His captor explained to him that “Jackson” was meeting…
Read MoreCostello leaving transit agency amid conflict over funding, policy December 11, 2013|By Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune reporter There was no immediate word on a replacement. Leanne Redden is the RTA’s senior deputy executive director; the chief of staff is Jordan Matyas, the son-in-law of House Speaker Michael Madigan. Neither Costello…
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December 10, 2013 Press Release Olympia Fields, Ill – On Tuesday, State Rep. Al Riley (D-Olympia Fields) announced that he has been appointed as chairman of the House Mass Transit Committee. “I am honored to serve as Chairman of the House Mass Transit committee and eager to continue my work…
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A Conversation with Representative Al Riley – Economic Development in the South Suburbs To watch the video, please click HERE. The interview highlights some discussion on the recent federal transportation law enacted by Congress over the summer; the Moving Ahead For Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) and my views on…
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