Leanne Redden, RTA Executive Director, Announces Retirement

Contact: Tina Smith, NITA Communications (312-913-3256, [email protected])

CHICAGO - September 2, 2026 - Leanne Redden, Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), today announced her retirement, effective as the RTA transitions into the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA).

Redden joined the agency in 2005 and has served as Executive Director since 2014, and had a tenure defined by rebuilding public trust, delivering record levels of state and federal transit funding, and modernizing how the region plans and pays for transit. Under her leadership, the RTA maintained an AA+ credit rating, reflecting sustained fiscal discipline and transparency. She guided development of two regional strategic plans, Invest in Transit and Transit is the Answer, which set the region's transit funding and policy priorities and laid the policy groundwork later carried into the NITA Act. Redden also shaped the RTA's community planning and transit-oriented development (TOD) programs, establishing the joint development framework NITA will now carry forward, and was known for building coalitions across the region's elected officials, business community, and advocacy organizations in support of transit funding and reform.

Redden was also an innovator on regional mobility. She introduced Bus on Shoulder to Chicago, developing the enabling legislation and working with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Pace to bring it to the region - allowing buses to bypass congestion by traveling on highway shoulders during peak periods.

"I have total confidence in the team she built to support the big challenges ahead," said Kirk Dillard, former RTA Chairman. "Leanne was a steady hand, an innovator and a transparent steward. Her leadership created a strong foundation for NITA to build on."

Redden will continue to serve in a leadership role at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

NITA's first board meeting with a new 20-member board is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 10, followed by the new CTA, Metra and Pace boards each meeting later in September.

Leanne Redden full statement:

"It has been the honor of my life to have led the RTA for 12 years and to have spent my career supporting the residents and economy of this region. My decision to retire is made with a full heart and total confidence in where this agency is headed. I'll continue to serve in my leadership role at the American Public Transportation Association, work I'm honored to continue.

"When I started at RTA more than 20 years ago, this was an agency still working to earn the public's trust. I'm proud to leave it as one of the most transparent, accountable stewards of public transit funding in the country - trusted with billions of public dollars because we chose, again and again, to do right by the riders and taxpayers we serve. That is good government at a time when it is sorely needed, and it was built by an extraordinary staff."

"None of this happens without partnership. Thank you to RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard, and to every RTA Board member over the past decades who brought judgment, time and genuine commitment to this region's future. Thank you to the advocates who never stopped pushing for a better system, and to Governor Pritzker, whose leadership helped deliver the largest capital investment in Illinois transit history through Rebuild Illinois and then historic new operating funding through the NITA Act. And thank you to the leadership of our three Service Boards, whose collaboration made every one of these wins possible."

"Since 2021, ridership is up 116%, service levels are at record highs, and customer satisfaction is the highest it's been since 2022. That is a direct reflection of the people who do this work every day."

"I leave the transit system in the strongest position it has ever been in and proud of a career spent connecting people to opportunity. I'm grateful beyond words, and I can't wait to see what NITA accomplishes next."

Leanne Redden condensed statement:

"As RTA becomes NITA, I am announcing that I will be retiring after 12 years leading the agency. I'm incredibly proud of what we built together - ridership up 116% since 2021, customer satisfaction the highest it's been since 2022, and historic funding wins including the largest capital investment in Illinois transit history through Rebuild Illinois and historic new operating funding through the NITA Act. I leave this agency in the strongest position it has ever been in, and I have complete confidence in NITA's success."

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About the Northern Illinois Transit Authority
The Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA), formerly the Regional Transportation Authority, was created by the Illinois General Assembly and Governor JB Pritzker to make transit across northeastern Illinois work for riders as one regional transit system. NITA sets regional fares, service standards, and schedules across CTA, Metra and Pace; plans and funds transit investment; and oversees system performance and finances. Across its six-county region, the transit system provides more than 1.3 million rides a day.

Learn more at nita.illinois.gov.