Ad Hoc Committee on the Transition to NITA issues final report

September 18, 2026

Between the June 1 effective date of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Act and the September seating and first meeting of the new NITA Board of Directors, an Ad Hoc Committee on the Transition to NITA met three times to dig deeply into issues that would be urgent when NITA began operating. Now, that committee has issued a final report summarizing lessons learned and recommendations for the incoming NITA Board. Read the full report.

Three RTA directors who had already been appointed to NITA were selected to serve on the Ad Hoc Committee, and all other RTA Board directors as well as leadership from CTA, Metra, and Pace were invited to participate. The report was prepared by those three RTA directors who now serve on the NITA Board: Dennis Mondero, Brian Sager, and Tom Kotarac, who chaired the committee and was elected Chair of the NITA Board of Directors at their first meeting on September 10.

The first Committee meeting on July 22 focused on the budget, capital investment, and transit-supportive development, asking the question, how should NITA use its new financial and development powers differently from the RTA? Watch a recording of the meeting.

The second meeting on August 13 focused on public safety and customer experience, addressing how NITA could coordinate regional resources to improve safety and the rider and employee experience. Watch a recording of the meeting.

The final meeting on August 26 focused on governance, organization, and performance management, exploring how NITA should organize itself to produce results without becoming another layer of bureaucracy. Watch a recording of the meeting.

The three hearings addressed different subjects, but the same operating philosophy appeared repeatedly: use regional authority where it adds value, keep operational accountability clear, measure what riders and employees experience, avoid recreating the same function four times, and change course when the evidence points to a better way. The report includes 16 recommendations that synthesize the three hearings and the transition members’ experience on the RTA Board. Recommendations include

• Develop one regional budget.
• Prioritize capital by project outcome and regional benefit.
• Treat efficiency requirements as minimum expectations.
• Use NITA resources to leverage other investment.
• Make safety and customer experience an immediate regional priority.
• Build the Office of Transit Safety and Experience quickly and well.
• Set clear roles across jurisdictions.
• Use a comprehensive safety strategy.
• Ask the Office of Transit Safety and Experience for common regional safety data from the start.
• Make it simple for riders to report problems.
• Establish one regional planning and decision-making cadence.
• Use multimodal hubs and corridors to demonstrate integration.
• Treat transit-supportive development as a transportation strategy.
• Coordinate early where the value is clear; consolidate only after analysis.
• Use professional and transparent executive leadership processes.
• Establish common expectations for reporting and transparency.

The report concludes with eight commitments the NITA Board makes to itself, each followed by the operating norms that put it into practice. Read the full report.