Congratulations to newly appointed Regional Transportation Authority Chairman John S. Gates, Jr., chairman and CEO of PortaeCoa, and longtime friend, former chair, and current member of the Metropolitan Planning Council's Board of Governors.
"John Gates' expertise in real estate development, finance and infrastructure, his deep knowledge of metropolitan Chicago's assets and challenges, and his bias for getting things done will serve the Regional Transportation Authority well," said MPC President MarySue Barrett.
Gates served as MPC Board chair from 2002 to 2004, during which time he worked closely with staff and fellow volunteers to strengthen MPC's relationships across metropolitan Chicago, especially in the infrastructure and public finance arenas.
When he became MPC Board chair, Gates was president and CEO of CenterPoint, then in the midst of redeveloping the Joliet Arsenal as the nation's largest intermodal facility at that time. The project ultimately connected BNSF and Union Pacific rail lines at a site just 20 minutes from nine interstate highways. The facility has since generated thousands of jobs and economic benefits for the south suburbs and the entire region, as well as helped alleviate regional freight congestion.
The arsenal's redevelopment was made possible through a public-private partnership, a concept Gates helped advance at the regional and state level through his work with MPC. He advocated for legislation that would allow the State of Illinois to finance transportation infrastructure investments, including roads and public transit, through partnerships with the private sector. Though the state has inched closer to this innovation in the past few years, Illinois has yet to adopt broad enabling legislation for public-private partnerships.
Gates will serve the RTA for five years, with his term ending in 2014. MPC intends to be right there, working with him and the rest of the board and transit agencies’ staff to make our region stand out from the pack on transit innovations driving economic reinvestment.
Read this interview with John Gates, Jr., published in MPC's Regional Connection newsletter in September 2002