This post is sponsored by Keating Law Offices. After appointing an influential West Side pastor who is not a transit expert to the CTA board, Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated another well-connected West Side pastor with no transit expertise to the Regional Transportation Authority board. The CTA board is responsible for overseeing the transit agency and, in theory, acts as a check on the transit agency’s executive director and president Dorval Carter. In practice, the board members have tended to offer nothing but praise and support for Carter. That’s even as the president has come under i ..read more

Sponsored by: • Mayor Brandon Johnson is all in on proposed $4.7 B Bears stadium — and thinks you should be, too (Block Club) • Civil Federation report: Much-needed financial aid for CTA, Metra and Pace should be tied to merger of transit agencies (WTTW, Crain’s, Block Club) • One person died and another was injured in crash Wednesday around 11:20 PM at Lake-Cook Road/Northgate Parkway in suburban Wheeling (FOX) • Police seek help in locating Dasia Whitfield, 13, last seen on Red Line (Hoodline) • Three years for man who helped set CTA van on fire during protests again ..read more

This post is sponsored by The Bike Lane. I know what some of you are thinking after reading this headline. “Geez Louise, is Greenfield going to harp on about the right to ride bicycles on the Chicago Riverwalk again? Didn’t he declare ‘victory’ on this issue years ago? And even if the City is banning cycling on the corridor again, it’s not the greatest place in the world to ride a bike anyway. You need to make lots of sharp turns to get around most of the bridge houses, and some sections get so crowded it truly is unsafe to ride through them at anything more than walking speed. Is this re ..read more

Sponsored by: • Sun-Times editorial: Time for a leadership change at CTA: Show Dorval Carter the exit door • Bears reveal plans for $4.6 billion domed lakefront stadium development (Sun-Times) • CTA “Officially launches new Chatbot to improve customer interaction with the agency” • Federal judge approves $12M settlement over botched Hilco implosion (Block Club) • Evanston’s new transit coordinator Sarah FioRito talks road, Metra upgrades (Daily Northwestern) • Is Chicago one of the worst big cities for biking, as People for Bikes claimed, or one of the 2nd best bike commuting cities ..read more

As a longtime bicycle courier, and one of Chicago’s most adventurous bike riders and writers, George Christensen did extensive cycling trips in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. These included biking the length of three continents and one subcontinent, India. Starting in 2001, he eloquently documented his travels on his well-read blog, George the Cyclist. But tragically, on Monday night Christensen’s life was cut short at age 73, when a truck driver fatally struck him as he rode through the southeastern United States. Yesterday morning sources notified Streetsb ..read more

This post is sponsored by The Bike Lane. You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers. A old-school Divvy station in Lincoln Park. Photo: Divvy Recently longtime Chicago bike Lowell Nelson advocate reached out to us with some photos of brand new Divvy bike-share docking stations. Unlike the old-school stations, whose docks featuring docks with vaguely trapezoidal shapes, the new ones have sort-of round cross-sections. Closeup of a new dock. Photo: Lowell Nelson “I’ve seen these new docks in a couple locations on the Southwest Side,” he said. “Do you know how many have been installed?” I promis ..read more

Sponsored by: • Starting at 1:37 AM today, Blue Line service was suspended on the Forest Park branch between Forest Park and Harlem “due to track conditions” (NBC) • Metra: Construction to affect midday service on Rock Island Beverly branch April 29 and 30 • SUV driver killed after striking pole, 2 children critically injured, Monday around 2:40 AM in 4-lane 3000 block of East 106th in South Deering (ABC) • 5 drivers crashed, at least one person injured Monday around 5:03 PM on I-57 near 159th Street (FOX) • Security guard uninjured after falling down 2 flights of stairs at Grand Red ..read more

Sponsored by: • Block Club: “Mayor sticking with embattled CTA boss for now as Gov. Pritzker calls for ‘new leadership’ • Sun-Times: “CTA touts its ‘Second Chance’ program for ex-offenders, but few end up with permanent jobs” • Driver dies after they Barrington Toll Plaza Plaza on I-90 and car was engulfed in flames (NBC) • Speeding driver crashed into home at Westmoor/Greenbay in Winnetka, fled on foot and was taken to hospital (CBS) • Hoodline: Urgent search for missing Chicago teen Samuel Gonzalez, last seen on CTA • Op-ed from UIC prof: Passing an Idaho Stop law in Chicago, allowing b ..read more

This post is sponsored by Ride Illinois. In the last three days, there’s been an increased focus on the policy failures of CTA President Dorval Carter. And there’s been growing pressure on Mayor Brandon Johnson to improve the region’s largest transit provider by replacing Carter.  Specifically, under Carter’s leadership, the CTA has not explained why the Yellow Line was closed for 50 days after a collision last January. It hasn’t justified why a bus driver who passed out and died in her operator’s chair was not noticed for nearly an hour, even though her bus hadn’t moved and had miss ..read more

This post is sponsored by Keating Law Offices. Metra is significantly boosting weekend service on the BNSF Line, Metra’s busiest line. In a first for the railroad, the schedule will be the same for Saturdays and Sundays. The changes will take effect on Monday, April 29. Under the new schedule, the BSNF will run 18 trains in each direction during the weekend, 20 percent more than it currently runs on Saturdays (15) and 80 percent more than it presently runs on Sundays (10). For the most part, the trains will run once an hour, with consistent headways for local trains. Metra is also tinkeri ..read more