East Central Reporter

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) is criticizing the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for what he deems as a misplaced focus on diversity and equity initiatives rather than improving transportation services.

Halbrook argued that the CTA should prioritize customer service, open more stops in underserved areas, and allocate resources to providing better service rather than funding diversity-related positions.

“The purpose of the transit authority is to provide transportation services,” Halbrook told East Central Reporter.

“How about they focus on that instead of implementing their woke agenda. The best way the Chicago Transit Authority can help people is to provide quality customer service. Instead of hiring people to be diversity czars, they should use that money to open up more bus and train stops in underserved areas. They don’t need to pay someone to point out the obvious. Fire the diversity Chief Equity officer. Provide better service. Open up more stops in underserved areas.”

“Bids should be awarded to the companies that can provide the best service at the cheapest price to taxpayers. The bidding process should be open, transparent, fair and should be a good deal for taxpayers.”

“The emphasis on equity and diversity at government agencies is a solution in search of a problem. We have agencies like the Chicago Transit Authority to provide a service to the people. The best way the CTA can help people is to make the safety of their passengers the highest priority and to be the best transit authority they can be. Doing that would help far more minorities than some equity officer ever could.”

Halbrook's comments followed an interview with Denise Barreto, the Chief Equity Officer for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), on WBBM. Appointed in July, Barreto played a key role in advancing equity initiatives in Cook County. Reflecting on her DEI career, she noted, "I wasn't trying to be in equity, but corporate America didn't know how to harness this energy.”

During the WBBM interview, Barreto, twice elected as a Lake in the Hills trustee, mentioned that McHenry County "wasn't very friendly to people that look like me," citing race as a factor. She then relocated to Evanston. In her prior role as Cook County's Director of Equity and Inclusion, Barreto initiated a 2021 mandate for "racial equity and cultural competency training" for all county employees by 2022.

Under Barreto's leadership, Cook County allocated $100 million to its Equity Fund, with a significant portion directed to minority- and women-owned businesses.

“Money we would be spending, we’re spending on folks who need it most, connecting them to our systems. The idea is, that gives them a chance to be seen by other entities. Because that’s half the battle with minority businesses — people giving you a chance. You can’t do racial equity without betting on somebody you don’t know,” Barreto told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard has prompted challenges to DEI initiatives nationwide, with 13 Republican state attorneys general cautioning Fortune 100 CEOs about legal obligations against racial discrimination.

U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has warned law firms about potential legal consequences associated with race-based employment practices.

Critics argue that DEI programs, despite high-profile endorsements, are ineffective, and there are growing calls to reconsider public funding for DEI offices.

“The upshot could not be clearer: Following the legal triumph of genuine human ‘equality’ and the defeat of vogue leftist notions of ‘equity’ in SFFA, DEI apparatuses nationwide should tread extremely carefully,” Josh Hammer wrote for Chronicles.

“Better yet, leading state attorneys general and members of Congress will be watching corporate diversitycrats like a hawk, threatening to sue, investigate or subpoena them if they stray too far and engage in race-conscious hiring, firing or other personnel decisions. Considering that the entire raison d’etre of the DEI regime is to do precisely this, the Republican attorneys general and members of Congress should find themselves with an overabundance of possible legal targets.”

The Heritage Foundation notes the increasing ineffectiveness of DEI programs, especially post the Supreme Court's ruling against race-based affirmative action.

Calls to reconsider public funding for DEI offices are growing to protect individuals from compelled adherence to potentially rights-violating ideologies.

“Such ideas would include the notion that individuals today are automatically guilty of racial crimes committed by others decades ago who happen to share the color of their skin,”  Jonathan Butcher wrote for the Heritage Foundation.  

“In public colleges and universities, lawmakers should prohibit school officials from using DEI statements to screen job applicants. Similar prohibitions on compelled speech should also apply.”