Ex-RTA chief Lewis Hill, 85, dies

A former Regional Transportation Authority CEO with ties to Chicago's original Daley administration died Saturday.

Lewis W. Hill, 85, of Mundelein, led the rail-and-bus organization in the 1970s and 1980s.

Hill previously had served as a commissioner of urban renewal in Chicago in the 1960s under Mayor Richard J. Daley and as commissioner of development and planning.

The RTA expanded under Hill's leadership, purchasing four suburban bus companies in 1981. But the agency also dealt with well-reported financial problems that year, too.

In 1982, a strike by some 26,000 railroad engineers affected commuter transit. The strike ended after Congress and President Ronald Reagan ordered the employees back to work.

A Texas native, Hill also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve, retiring as a lieutenant commander.

Hill died at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

A funeral Mass was said for Hill on Monday at St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church near Mundelein.

Hill's survivors include six children, 20 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

Instead of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mercy Home, 1140 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Ill., 60607.