President Preckwinkle Nominates Romayne Brown to the Metra Board of Directors

Cook County Board President Preckwinkle today announced her intention to appoint Romayne Brown to the Metra Board of Directors. Brown is a retired transit manager with more than 30 years of operations and customer service experience. She started her career at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as a conductor and rose through the ranks, eventually earning the position of Vice President of Rail Operations. As VP of operations Brown's primary responsibility was to develop and administer policies, programs and procedures to ensure the timeliness and safety of rail transit service to more than 500,000 customers daily. “Romayne Brown’s job was to make sure the trains ran safely and on time,” President Preckwinkle said. “Her decades of transportation experience will be a great asset to the Metra Board, which needs someone who knows what it takes to operate a mass transit rail line. I hope the infusion of new members will allow the board to return to its core mission and improve transit service for commuters throughout the region.” During her tenure at CTA, Brown also served as superintendent of rail personnel and as general manager of rail operations, where she oversaw the operational, maintenance, administrative and customer service functions for CTA’s Red, Purple and Yellow Lines. Brown, a native of Chicago's South Side who has lived in Dolton for more than 20 years, retired from the CTA in 2010. “There are few opportunities that could lure me out of retirement, Brown said. Taking on this new challenge appealed to me. I want to help Metra, one of the largest commuter rail systems in the country, return to its primary focus of providing more than 300,000 passenger trips a day to commuters.” Brown’s appointment will be introduced at the Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, October 2. President Preckwinkle’s intends to hold a special board meeting to consider Brown’s nomination, so if approved, she can be in place by the Oct. 18 Metra board meeting. If appointed, Brown’s term will last until March 31, 2016.