Szabo confirmed to lead FRA

Joe Szabo won Senate confirmation to become head of the Federal Railroad Administration.

Szabo, the state legislative director in Illinois for the United Transportation Union (UTU), will be informally sworn into office May 5 so that he can take over his new duties without delay, with a more formal ceremony to be announced later.

Before his current UTU job, Szabo, “a fifth-generation railroader” according to the UTU, was mayor of Riverdale, a Chicago suburb that is home to some large rail operations.