Investigations
Interim NITA Director Earning $350K Salary While Also Collecting $213K Annual City Pension, Records Show
(Background: WTTW News. Inset: Provided)
Newly named interim Northern Illinois Transit Authority Executive Director Jamie Rhee will collect an annual city taxpayer-funded pension of more than $213,000 while earning $350,000 to run the new agency, bringing her total annual compensation to more than $563,000, according to records obtained by WTTW News.
When Rhee retired in April 2025 after nearly seven years as the commissioner of the Department of Aviation, serving three mayors, she was the city of Chicago’s highest paid employee, records show.
In all, Rhee spent more than 32 years working for the city of Chicago, records show. Her pension is the second largest paid by the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit fund of Chicago, according to documents obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Rhee has received pension payments of more than $17,773 per month since she retired on April 15, 2025, and they will continue for the rest of her life, according to records obtained by WTTW News from the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit fund of Chicago. Annually, Rhee’s pension increases by 3% to cover any increase in the cost of living, records show.
In addition to leading the aviation department and overseeing the $8.8 billion expansion of O’Hare Airport, Rhee, 58, served as the city’s chief procurement officer and worked for the Department of Planning and Development as well as the Department of Law. Rhee also served as deputy chief of staff to former Mayor Richard M. Daley.
One of the first things the board of directors for the new transit agency did was to name Rhee interim executive director, agreeing to pay her $350,000 annually, confirmed Tina Smith, NITA communications director. Rhee’s initial at-will contract is for six months and requires board approval to be extended, Smith said.
NITA was created to oversee CTA, Metra and Pace, and replaced the Regional Transportation Authority on Sept. 1. The new governance model came along with an additional $1.5 billion in annual funding for transit to prevent the three operators from going over a fiscal cliff.
Rhee did not respond to questions from WTTW News, but Smith said Rhee’s current salary does not include contributions to a second pension and she will not receive additional retirement benefits.
It is legal in Illinois to simultaneously earn a salary from a government agency and collect a taxpayer-funded pension. Rhee is not the first public official to take on a new taxpayer-paid job after retiring from another government position.
Tom Kotarac, the chairman of the NITA board of directors, called Rhee “one of the region’s best public servants.”
Director Oswaldo Alvarez, who cast the only dissenting vote against Rhee’s appointment, said he was not aware there were any candidates under consideration to serve as interim director or and questioned whether Rhee had been vetted. Alvarez was appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Kotarac told the board that Rhee does not intend to vie for the permanent position unless the board invites her to apply. A national search for a permanent executive director is underway, officials said.
Rhee has no experience leading a transit agency or working specifically in ground-based transportation.
Rhee told the board during its first meeting that her experience leading O’Hare and Midway airports taught her how to provide Chicagoans with “clean, safe and efficient modes of transportation.”
“We have to focus on the transit workers, frontline workers, as well as taxpayers, and so showing those immediate improvements and hitting the ground running is going to be very critical,” Rhee said.
When Johnson announced Rhee’s retirement, the mayor said she “embodied the best of public service and she has left an indelible mark on our airports and our city.”
Nick Blumberg contributed to this report.
WTTW News investigative coverage is supported in part by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
Contact Jared Rutecki: @JaredRutecki | [email protected]
