Since the pandemic, dysfunction has become synonymous with the Chicago Transit Authority. Our series, CTA In Crisis, aimed to hold leaders accountable for the mismanagement at the root of the agency’s failures to deliver clean, consistent, safe service to 30.1 million monthly riders, as well as its own employees.
Block Club reporter Manny Ramos’ six-month investigation, “Death Behind The Wheel: How The CTA Failed A Driver In Crisis” documented how the CTA paid so little attention to employees’ safety that driver Antia Lyons missed over 50 scheduled stops and died on her route. Supervisors didn’t notice and no one called for help until someone walking by noticed her slumped over in her bus.
Another story in our series showed the CTA’s governing board was filled with political insiders instead of transportation experts, contributing to a lack of oversight.
Ramos’ reporting also revealed that, as riders waited for buses and trains that never arrived, CTA president Dorval Carter spent more time attending conferences around the world than visiting stations in Chicago.
As a vivid example of how the agency conducts business, Ramos uncovered a backroom deal between the CTA and an AI company that was done without board approval.
