CTA President Dorval Carter is set to get a pay raise as the agency contends with steep drops in fare revenue and ridership has yet to return to prepandemic levels.
Chicago Transit Board members on Wednesday approved a 33% pay raise, bringing Carter’s salary up to $350,000 from $262,731.
CTA Spokesman Brian Steele said it was the first time the board itself had raised Carter’s salary since he was appointed in 2015. All employees, including Carter, have received smaller raises in line with those included in union contracts, he said.
CTA board Chairman Lester Barclay touted Carter’s work before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the raise is also a reflection of the work expected as the region emerges from the pandemic and as CTA anticipates an influx of federal funding from the new infrastructure program. It is necessary to retain talent, Barclay said.
“Running a transit agency during normal times is a herculean task,” he told the board. “Doing so during a global pandemic was nothing short of remarkable.”
He reiterated that “CTA was the only major U.S. transit agency to not cut scheduled service.” The Tribune found the agency failed to meet scheduled service levels during the pandemic, an issue CTA has attributed to “temporary staffing shortages.” The agency has said it is working to recruit employees.
CTA’s ridership in November was above 50% of pre-pandemic levels. The agency relied on federal COVID-19 relief to close budget gaps for 2021 and 2022.
“(The board’s vote) is a way to make sure that we have the leadership that this agency needs as we move forward with what will be unprecedented times, unprecedented investment and an unprecedented effort to come out of the pandemic,” Steele said.
The salary raise did not include additional raises in future years, or extra compensation like bonuses or increased retirement contributions.
The CTA raise follows one the Metra board approved for its CEO in September as that agency grapples with steep drops in ridership. After the raise, Metra CEO Jim Derwinski’s salary was $305,000 for 2021, with another raise to $314,200 next year. Retiring Pace Executive Director Rocky Donahue’s base salary in 2021 was $286,598, according to the RTA, which oversees finances and planning for the three transit agencies. RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden’s 2021 salary was $299,636, according to the agency’s website.
