Green Line trains at Clinton Station in June 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

Two former heads of the Federal Transit Administration left the fledgling board of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) with prescient advice on Thursday as the agency takes the reins of Chicago-area public transportation.

Speaking as part of an advisory panel at the board’s third-ever meeting, Nuria Fernandez and Peter Rogoff gave the board their thoughts on a variety of issues, including staffing and governance. But their most persistent message was one of immediacy.