Gabe Klein memorial thread

No, he's not dead.  He's stepping down, though.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chicagos-tran...

I, for one, am sad to see him go.

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Permalink Reply by Eli on November 1, 2013 at 6:59am

"promoting alternative transit over vehicle travel"

Permalink Reply by Christine (5.0) on November 1, 2013 at 7:46am

Was he heavily involved with the push for Ventra?  If so, and if it is forced resignation, I could see that being related.

Permalink Reply by dan brown on November 1, 2013 at 8:22am

+1. and I am VERY cynical but this reply is spot on IMHO.

Davis Moore said:

That's a pretty cynical suggestion. Pretty much every initiative he's championed has been a success and there's never been anything but public support for his work from the Mayor's office, who is the only person who would force him to resign. Anyone familiar with his bio knows he's never spent too long in one place, more because he seems motivated to keep moving. He's got a pretty strong track record of success.

Care to back it up?

h' $550 said:

After leaving CDOT, Klein said he plans to take his wife on a vacation, then go to work on developing a couple of private-sector business plans that promote transportation technology.

I can't think of a better way to say "forced to resign."

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 1, 2013 at 9:48am

Projects being a success is not all it takes to keep a job; there are a lot of politics required to keep a job like his.

Davis Moore said:

That's a pretty cynical suggestion. Pretty much every initiative he's championed has been a success and there's never been anything but public support for his work from the Mayor's office, who is the only person who would force him to resign. Anyone familiar with his bio knows he's never spent too long in one place, more because he seems motivated to keep moving. He's got a pretty strong track record of success.

Care to back it up?

h' $550 said:

After leaving CDOT, Klein said he plans to take his wife on a vacation, then go to work on developing a couple of private-sector business plans that promote transportation technology.

I can't think of a better way to say "forced to resign."

Permalink Reply by JeffB on November 1, 2013 at 10:45am

I'm sad to see him go.  I considered his hiring, and the support he got, the best thing Emmanuel's done.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 1, 2013 at 11:58am

In what universe is Ventra a success story?

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

In what world is Ventra a success story?

h' $550 said:

I don't know about "the push for Ventra"-- Ventra is a success story.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 3, 2013 at 1:32pm

+1

JeffB (7+ miles) said:

I'm sad to see him go.  I considered his hiring, and the support he got, the best thing Emanuel's done.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on November 4, 2013 at 5:10am

City politics are always pretty toxic.

Permalink Reply by globalguy on November 4, 2013 at 5:11am

Whatever the reasons for his departure, we now have no official bike advocate at CDOT: neither a bike-oriented commish nor a Bicycle Coordinator. And I don't like that such a position remains victim of the arbitrary whim of an opportunistic Mayor or a "family-oriented" appointee.  Perhaps what passes for the 4th Estate in the bike community might take some time from reporting on policy/design minutiae to investigate the politics behind this.  Inquiring minds wanna' know ...

Permalink Reply by globalguy on November 4, 2013 at 6:51am

No, inquiring minds would like our elected officials to keep their promises with long-term, consistent transport policies especially when the current org structure of CDOT, below, doesn't even come close to reflecting the Mayor's bikey rhetoric. Notice anything missing?

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on November 4, 2013 at 7:16am

It's not that people seem to be ingrates, I think it's just our fears of going back to pre-world class cycling facilities.

Davis Moore said:

You do know that the phrase "Inquiring Minds Want to Know" is the tag line for The Inquirer right? Only the trashiest tabloid ever. You don't find it the least bit ironic that that's your go to phrase?

As for the spreadsheet, great, if the point is that CDOT needs a bikeways department. Great, agreed, the city also needs a planning department in general. But why is that Klein's fault and what do "the circumstances of his departure" have to do with it?

And now this is turning into an attack thread on Klein for "leaving us in that situation"?

Really?

Seems like the "situation" he's leaving us in is one with radically improved bike infrastructure and a world class bike share system? 

Wow. What a bunch of ingrates...

Permalink Reply by S on November 4, 2013 at 7:35am

What exactly is your issue here?  Why do you think that Gabe Klein owes us anything in terms of staying on the job?  It's not like he was elected to a term as the CDOT Director or anything.  The guy could just be burnt out and tired of dealing with city politics and bureaucracy and wants some vacation time before moving on to a new venture.

h' $550 said:

And we're supposed to hail GK as a hero for walking off the job and leaving us in that situation.
 

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