Metra Chairman Fires Back At Lawmaker
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Metra's chairman said Friday that she is not going anywhere, and will fight legislation intended to sweep out the commuter rail agency's current directors, and limit the pay and perks that future Metra, CTA, Pace and RTA board members can get.
"I'm here this morning and I plan to be here to fulfill my duties," said Chairman Carole Doris with a laugh, following Metra's monthly board meeting.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Bob Roberts reports, Doris said she had no intention of bowing to State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), who is sponsoring the legislative package, or to other critics, and said Metra would fight the legislation Franks has authored.
"I don't think it's in the best interests of Metra," she said.
Doris said that with a new executive director on board and changes being implemented or promised, they should be given a chance to work.
She also bristled at Franks' contention that the Metra board has failed to do its job and is not engaged in oversight of its operations.
"It's not once a month," she said. "The dedication that each member of this board, the experience and expertise they bring to matters that come before us, their total immersion into Metra issues is apparent."
Franks said Thursday that the commuter rail agency's board members "simply are not doing their jobs," but said his primary targets are Doris and Metra board chairman Jack Schaffer, a former legislator and a political rival of Franks.
"They need to be swept out because its obvious that they can't keep their own house clean," Franks said.
Metra's directors are paid $15,000 a year, and they participate in the RTA pension plan. Franks said he would try to replace them with people who have a transportation background, but would pay them and members of the other transit boards stipends instead of salaries.
"If you were not an employee, and I don't believe they should be classified as employees, they would not get a pension first of all, but the health care perk would be taxed," Franks said.
Doris said Franks' "attack was based upon an erroneous view of the law and a twisted presentation of information."
She said Metra board members are paid as employees because Internal Revenue Service regulations require it, and said that as employees, board members always have been part of the RTA pension plan.
She said she considers the treatment of Metra board members no different from those on the CTA, Pace and RTA boards and numerous state-sanctioned boards.
Others at Metra questioned whether Franks has an ax to grind. His law firm represents the widow of former Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano, who committed suicide in May 2010 and has been accused in subsequent investigations and reports with a series of financial irregularities. The Metra board was expected to fire Pagano the morning he walked in front of one of his own trains.
