CTA president Dorval Carter testifies before Chicago City Council's Transportation Committee

CHICAGO (WLS) -- CTA President Dorval Carter got personal and defiant Thursday as he fights to save his job.

Carter testified before the Chicago City Council's Transportation Committee Thursday. Several alderman took issue with Carter's tone during his testimony.

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A resolution was signed last week by 29 of the 50 alderman, who called on him to resign or be fired by the mayor. It noted service and security problems and low ridership.

READ MORE | Aldermen frustrated with performance, leadership call for CTA president Dorval Carter to resign

More than half of the City Council have signed a resolution, demanding CTA President Dorval Carter resign or be fired by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Carter took issue with it all, lashing out against his critics, saying he's being targeted because of his race.

"I am painfully aware of the fact that I am the first African-American president of the Chicago Transit Authority," Carter said. "I've worked for a number of people who have led this agency, I've never seen anyone go through what I've went through."

Council members who voted for his removal are raising concerns in the bill about CTA's service reliability, security, hiring and ridership, which was hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think that it is separate from feedback when we're talking about the service," 40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez said. "The CTA is largely African-American, when you think about the staff. And, when we get complaints from workers about their treatment, we take that into consideration."

Carter became the president of the Chicago Transit Authority in 2015, appointed by then-mayor Rahm Emanuel. It was Carter who helped to secure funding for the Red Line expansion project.

In the four-hour council hearing, Carter said he has done what's needed to be done to boost hiring and ridership post-pandemic, while also ignoring, he says, other opportunities to earn more than his $376,000 dollar CTA salary.

"Believe me, if I felt that I could snap my fingers and this agency would be perfect tomorrow, I would do that. But, unfortunately, that's not how life works. So, we have worked diligently to bring the agency back," Carter said.

Carter said CTA is on target to having its service restored to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.

He is now mandated to make quarterly appearances before the Transportation Committee.

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Carter says CTA is on target to having its service restored to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.

Mayor Brandon Johnson continues his support for Carter while Governor J-B Pritzker is also calling on a leadership change with the C-T-A.