Revamped Metra board picks familiar face to lead group

A revamped Metra board chose a familiar face as leader Wednesday amid conflicting messages about regional unity and divides.

Incoming board directors unanimously picked Romayne Brown of Dolton as chair. She previously served in that position from 2020 to 2024 during the pandemic.

Kane County Director Joe McMahon, whose term as chair ended Sept. 1 under provisions of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act, nominated Brown and praised her “proven track record.”

“It’s challenging, but I have a great team behind me,” said Brown. “We’re looking at times that will be great for the region and for Metra.”

Earlier, board directors had a rare split vote on whether to continue Metra’s practice of rotating board chairs every four years between residents of Cook County and the five Collar Counties.

The policy enacted in 2012 was intended to keep a regional balance at the commuter railroad. Metra serves riders in the city of Chicago, suburban Cook County and a large population in the Collar Counties, McMahon said.

“That has been a good practice to alternate board leadership,” McMahon said.

Director Brian Sager, former Woodstock mayor, called it “a fair and appropriate representation of interests.”

But “I think it is really important that we, right here from the get-go, align ourselves with the goals, the purposes, and the legislative intent of NITA,” said Director Joseph Szabo of Chicago, former Federal Railroad Administration chief.

He added, “I would continue to endorse an approach where we’re collaborative and over time sharing the chairmanship.”

Metra attorneys recommended eliminating the rotation to align with the NITA Act, transit reform legislation passed in 2025. The law gave NITA greater authority over Metra, Pace and the CTA and resulted in an influx of new board members.

An amendment by McMahon to keep the rotation intact was tied after Director Christian Diaz abstained, Collar County board members voted in favor, and Chicago and Cook members voted against.

The tie meant the motion failed. Directors subsequently voted 8-3 to end the rotation and to allow the chair to be elected by a simple majority instead of a vote of eight out of the 11 board members.

Brown, a former CTA executive, promised the Collar Counties “will have a voice at the table. We cannot strengthen public transit by working in a silo.”