Legislator: Metra board wasting money, should resign

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

SPRINGFIELD — The head of a House government oversight panel Thursday identified a pattern of “deliberate, deceitful” financial abuses by Metra board members and called for them to resign.

State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo), chairman of the House State Government Administration Committee, zeroed in on Metra Chairman Carole Doris’ out-of-state travel and the free health care and dual government pensions that the board’s treasurer, former state Sen. Jack Schaffer, collects.

“Metra, as you know, is an organization that comes to Springfield with their high-priced lobbyists to always ask for more tax dollars, more funding, always more. And for what?” Franks said.

“For $500-a-night hotel rooms and limos and expensive perks along with free health care for people who are already drawing multiple taxpayer paid pensions and salaries,” he said.

Franks produced receipts he acquired from the transit agency for Doris that included a $548 bill at a Washington, D.C., hotel and $50 receipts from a west-suburban limousine service.

Decrying the “attack” from Franks, Doris said she often pays numerous expenses related to her duties on her own and that her expense vouchers are treated no differently than anyone else in the agency “under similar circumstances.”

“The recent accusations are an unfortunate distraction from all the numerous actions taken by Metra to resolve the issues related to the former executive director,” she said.

Former Metra executive director Phil Pagano committed suicide by stepping in front of a Metra train last May. A probe later found that Pagano may have broken the law by signing off on at least $475,000 in unauthorized vacation pay for himself.

Schaffer, a Crystal Lake Republican and political rival of Franks, draws $9,050 in monthly government pensions from his time as a state senator and as the state commissioner of Banks and Trusts. Schaeffer also will qualify for a pension from Metra, which pays him and other board members $15,000 a year, Franks said.

“Over the last five years, Jack Schaffer has taken over $105,000 in Metra-paid health care even though one of his state pensions provides free health care. He and other board members are receiving full-time benefits for very part-time service,” Franks said.

A message left at Schaffer’s Crystal Lake residence was not returned Thursday evening.

Franks has legislation pending that would strip board members for Metra, the Regional Transportation Authority, Pace and the Chicago Transit Agency of salaries and benefits and merge all of the bodies into one transit agency.

On other legislative fronts, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) and fellow Senate Republicans called on Gov. Quinn to cut state spending by between $4 billion and $6 billion to prevent the state from falling off “a budget cliff” in five years.

If no action is taken, they predicted the state could face a budget deficit of $22 billion by 2016. The group intends next week to identify specific cuts.

“This isn’t the Titanic,” said Sen. Pamela Althoff (R-Crystal Lake). “This is the Hindenburg crashing into the Titanic.”

Quinn spokesman Mica Matsoff ridiculed the Republicans for not suggesting cuts and for a litany of “loud complaints” to cuts the administration proposed within GOP districts.

“While Senate Republicans spend their time creating graphics for bombastic press releases, the Governor is continuing to work on a comprehensive strategy to fix our budget,” Matsoff said.