CHICAGO - Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois board chairman John Gates announced Wednesday he would step down from the post at the end of his term in June.
Gates led the agency's board for the last four years, spearheading efforts to lobby for a $2 billion hike in its state approved bonding authority and to press for expanded oversight of Chicago area transit agencies as a Gov. Pat Quinn appointed task force considers reforms to regional transit management.
Under Gates, the agency also successfully pursued litigation to end the diversion of sales taxes paid by corporations that operate sham offices in counties outside the region with a lower sales tax.
An RTA study last year promoted the idea of merging the various local transit systems into one. Supporters say the RTA's powers should be expanded, while critics believe it should be disbanded.
The RTA currently provides fiscal oversight of the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra commuter rail, and Pace suburban bus service, but each has its own board and they often bicker over the division of funding. The RTA has also butted heads with the CTA over the CTA's moves to borrow on its own.
Gates was elected by board members to the leadership post in 2010. During his tenure, the agency and its local service boards achieved balanced budgets, the RTA's bond ratings rose, and diversions from local transit budgets of capital funds to cover operations ended. The agency also conducted its first ever lengthy assessment of the condition of its assets and equipment.
"These reforms are changes that will have a lasting impact on our transit system for years to come," Gates said in a statement. "As I leave the RTA, I know that the foundation of our public transportation system is stronger today than it was four years ago."
Gates, 60, previously led the board at the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority. He is chief executive officer of the private investment company PortaeCo.
Gates' announcement comes as executive director Joseph Costello plans to retire at the end of the month after two decades, first as chief executive officer and then as executive director.
Ahead of a recent GO sale, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on the RTA's AA rating to stable from negative. Moody's Investors Service affirmed its Aa3 rating and stable outlook and Standard & Poor's affirmed its AA rating and stable outlook.
The authority has $2 billion of long-term debt outstanding. The agency has exhausted most of its existing state approved bonding capacity. Infrastructure needs and the lack of adequate funding remains not just a central operating but a key credit challenge for the agency, with more than 70% of its rail cars in worn or marginal condition, Fitch said. The agency has $32 billion in funding needs over the next decade and is struggling to come up with ways to cover the costs.
