RTA picks suburban planner as new chief
A self-described "policy wonk" from the suburbs is the Regional Transportation Authority's next leader.
RTA board directors appointed Acting Executive Director Leanne Redden, who lives in Schaumburg, as the agency's new chief Wednesday. Redden, a former senior planner at the RTA, stepped in as interim CEO in March.
The agency's very existence has been questioned by lawmakers, and one state panel recommended it be eliminated this spring. Frequently, as a referee between the CTA, Metra and Pace, the RTA draws criticism from all sides.
But in a previous interview with the Daily Herald, Redden said she was up for any challenges.
"I think I have credibility ... I've been in the region for a while and have worked with the players," Redden said. "I'm not afraid to pick up the phone and just talk to people and work through the tough issues.
"I want to get us back as that credible, reliable data source. I think sometimes people have forgotten what the RTA does, what it can do and what us policy wonks continue to do," she said.
With Redden and new RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard, a former state senator, all four agencies managed to resolve historical budget disputes amicably this year, a shift from public feuding in 2012 and 2013.
Redden grew up in Australia. She has a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Redden will be paid $222,000 a year.