Kirk Dillard

Kirk Dillard

Kirk Dillard is the chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Board of Directors.  Chairman Dillard and the RTA Board oversee the nation’s second-largest public transportation system by passenger miles traveled, which serves more than eight million residents in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.

Chairman Dillard served as the co-chair of then Governor-Elect Bruce Rauner’s Infrastructure Transition Policy Committee.   For nearly 20 years, Chairman Dillard served as the Republican senator for the 24^th District of the Illinois State Senate.  Senator Dillard served on the Transportation Committee, was a strong supporter of mass transit, and the sponsor of the Secretary of State’s Railroad Safety Initiatives, which resulted in a significant drop in grade-crossing fatalities.  Additionally, he served on a myriad of committees while in the senate including serving as Co-Chairperson of the Judiciary Committee and Chairman of the High Technology Task Force.

Prior to serving as senator, Chairman Dillard served with distinction as Chief of Staff to former Governor Jim Edgar and as Legislative Director to former Governor James Thompson. He is currently a partner at Locke Lord LLP, one of Chicago’s oldest and largest law firms. Chairman Dillard has been recognized in Crain’s Chicago Business’ “Who’s Who in Chicago Business”.

Chairman Dillard has a B.A. from Western Illinois University, a J.D. from the DePaul University College of Law and served as a Public Policy Mentor for the University of Chicago. Chairman Dillard is a lifelong resident of the region and has been a rider of public transportation for more than 50 years, riding the Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains since early childhood, and now is a regular rider of Metra.