The Chicago Transit Authority announced Wednesday that chief of staff Nora Leerhsen will take over as acting president of the transit agency when current President Dorval Carter Jr. retires at the end of the month.

Chicago Transit Authority Board members met Wednesday to appoint a new interim leader after longtime president Dorval Carter announced his retirement.

Carter’s resignation comes as a debate brews in Springfield about whether to combine the CTA with Metra, Pace and the Regional Transportation Authority.

Nora Leerhsen, CTA's chief of staff, is taking over as interim president days after the agency's embattled former chief announced he was stepping down.

Springfield route: Gov JB Pritzker, who appoints three of the CTA’s seven board members, likewise demanded a leadership change at the CTA before the Illinois General Assembly would even consider giving the Chicago area’s four mass transit agencies the money to avert a $730 million fiscal cliff.

CTA chief of staff Nora Leerhsen will be the interim president of the CTA, taking over after Dorval Carter’s retirement at the end of January. She will, for now, take on leadership of an agency that has faced rampant complaints from riders in recent years,

Chicago Transit Agency President Dorval Carter Jr. announced Monday his intention to retire from the agency at the end of the month to become a hospital CEO. (

CTA president and CEO Dorval Carter announced Monday he'll retire at the end of the month. Why it matters: Carter has been under fire in recent years from other city officials and CTA riders who think the leader hasn't done enough to improve service since the pandemic decimated ridership.