CTA: Agency on the Move
Ruan Conference Center
Lower Level of Chambers Hall
600 Foster Street
February 6, 2008 -- 5 PM
Ron Huberman
President, Chicago Transit Authority
President Huberman discusses the recent history and future of Chicago's transit system, and also introduces the Inaugural CTA Presidential Fellowship Program: brochure and application available here.
Bio:
Ron Huberman was appointed President of the Chicago Transit Authority in May 2007. Huberman oversees the day-to-day operations of the second largest transit agency in the country. CTA’s 154 bus routes and eight rail routes provide nearly 1.6 million rides on an average weekday to Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs.
From 2005 to 2007, Huberman served as Chief of Staff for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. As Chief of Staff, Ron Huberman directed the operations of the City of Chicago’s 49 departments and 39,000 employees, and oversaw an annual budget of $5.7 billion. Huberman led the City’s reform initiatives to eliminate corruption in City government, and put in place a dynamic new performance management system to measure and reward the performance of every City department and employee.
From 2004 to 2005, Huberman served as Executive Director of the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC). The OEMC oversees Chicago’s Police and Fire emergency response, and serves as the City’s primary agency on all homeland security issues, coordinating with local, state and federal agencies to ensure emergency preparedness. While at OEMC, Huberman executed Mayor Daley’s vision by developing Operation Virtual Shield, greatly expanding the number of technologies used to reduce crime and increase public safety. Huberman also established the state-of-the-art Operations Center, Chicago’s “nerve center,” which provides real-time intelligence to public safety officials.
Prior to his appointment as Executive Director at OEMC, Huberman served the Chicago Police Department for nine years. Huberman began his career as a beat cop with various tactical gang team and special operations unit assignments. Huberman then served as Director of Information Services, where he formed a partnership with the Illinois State Police to establish an integrated criminal justices system known as Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting (CLEAR), the first such database in the nation. Huberman later served as an Assistant Deputy Superintendent, managing over 600 civilian employees and sworn officers and developing innovative policing strategies that utilized cutting-edge technology to achieve significant decreases in crime.
Huberman speaks extensively across the country and has chaired special committees on homeland security and policing on behalf of the Police Executive Research Forum and the United States Department of Justice. Huberman has also conducted domestic and international research on homicide prevention, and his writing on community policing has been published by the Department of Justice.
Huberman is the recipient of a number of awards and honors, including the International Gary P. Hayes Award for innovation and leadership in policing, and has received a number of special commendations from the Chicago Police Department including 24 Honorable Mentions. Huberman was also named one of Intelligence and Warning America’s “Top 5” in the United States.
Huberman was born in Tel Aviv and raised in LaGrange, Illinois. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Huberman received master’s degrees in Business Administration and Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago, where he was both an Albert Schweitzer and Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow.
