By: Robert C. Herguth, Chicago Sun-Times: September 8th, 2003
Kevin Majors, the former CTA bus supervisor who believes he was unfairly stripped of his retirement pension for publicly criticizing the agency’s bus service, is slated to finally get his benefits.
Majors was quoted last fall in the Chicago Sun-Times ridiculing the CTA’s claim that 90 percent of the buses are on time. Even though he had retired, moved to Detroit and been told by the CTA he qualified for a full pension, officials informed him within days of the story appearing that a bureaucratic mistake had occurred and he didn’t yet qualify.
Majors—who needed the money in part to care for disabled son—suspected retribution and sued CTA, its pension plan and CTA President Frank Kruesi.
The lawsuit recently was settled, officials said. Although some formalities remain, Majors is expected to start receiving pension payments shortly.
Neither Majors nor his lawyers would comment publicly. But CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said; “As part of the agreement, [Majors] acknowledges the issue is with the pension board and not the CTA or Frank.”
Kruesi faced more pension controversy in recent weeks when it was disclosed he secretly tried to pad his own benefits so that several years of non-government service would be counted toward his government pension.
While answering questions last week about his own troubles, Kruesi said Majors deserves his pension and blamed the bus union for “blocking” that pension for months.