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* LIVE COVERAGE * Metra allegations hearing

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* ABC7 has live coverage of today’s RTA hearing over allegations made by Metra’s former CEO that he was dismissed because he had “not acceded to requests for unlawful politically-motivated employment actions.” Click here for the live feed. WGN also has a live feed here.

* Sun-Times…

Former Metra CEO Alex Clifford testified Wednesday that after he wrote a memo saying House Speaker Michael Madigan’s office asked him to raise the pay of a Madigan campaign worker and hire another friend, Metra officials worked to oust him.

The memo “sparked a desire…to have me leave sooner rather than later,” Clifford told the RTA board, which has financial oversight over Metra.Clifford said that in February this year Metra Board Chairman Brad O’Halloran told him O’Halloran was going to have to get a meeting with Madigan to see what damage Clifford’s rebuffing of Madigan’s wishes would have on the agency’s funding.

“I wanted to stay working at Metra,” Clifford said earlier in the hearing. “This has been a long, difficult process.”

Clifford said he was “really steaming” when he heard he may not have the votes from the Metra board to stay on the job after he refused to go along with requests from powerful politicians.

* Tribune…

Shortly before Metra CEO Alex Clifford’s patronage complaints against House Speaker Michael Madigan pushed the agency into severance negotiations, Madigan asked Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration to hire the supporter at the heart of Clifford’s allegation.

The Quinn administration — which has sharply criticized Metra’s handling of Clifford’s departure — granted the speaker’s request for Patrick Ward, a labor relations specialist and longtime foot soldier in Madigan’s political army. Officials said Ward now is working in a newly tailored Chicago-based job that took over the duties of a state worker whose job had been based in Winnebago County.

The state revealed that Ward was the only person interviewed for the $70,000-a-year job.

The Quinn administration said the governor did not know about the hiring until Friday.

* And here’s a ScribbleLive feed…

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 9:31 am

Comments

Has the memo surfaced?

Comment by I don't want to live in Teabagistan Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 9:49 am
==Metra’s Clifford: 2 Spkr Madigan requests for patronage favors were ONLY ones he received from any elected official.==
Just 2 total? He should consider himself lucky.

Comment by Robert the Bruce Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 9:58 am
Great use of the station’s websites. More should do it.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:00 am
“I mean, seriously, writing a letter for a political supporter is now supposed to be some sort of scandal? Are you kidding me?”

Those reformers are so humorless…

Comment by lake county democrat Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:04 am
“Moral flaw,” “character flaw,” and “personality flaw” are a wee bit over the top, aren’t they?

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:08 am
LOL at the thought of a top dog Illinois pol being so careless that this could actually be a proven allegation.

Mr. Clifford’s allegations seem amateurish to me. Gotta be smarter than this, dude.

Comment by Anonner Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:13 am
Spoken like someone who doesn’t plan on living in Illinois for much longer…

Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:13 am
Funny, when this first started last week people were told they were naive and politicians asking for jobs and raises for people was just normal…

Which you can ALMOST understand. The trick is the second part. “Pay this person more, or hire this guy or you get fired” or “Dont fire this guy, or we fire/punish you”

If we dont think that happens and is wrong we have been in Chicago/Illinois too long.

Comment by RonOglesby Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:17 am
fascinating to watch this thing explode from just another piece of shenanigans to major story.

Comment by shore Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:20 am
So, were any of the state jobs at issue Rutan-exempt or not. If they were exempt, presumably the state didn’t have to formally interview anyone. The employee could be appointed.

The issue of patronage hiring came up under Blago and I don’t believe the rules have changed. A job that is Rutan-exempt can be subject to political hiring and, presumably, other forms of political meddling like salary increases recommended by politicians. Was Clifford aware of this? He should have been.

Also, it’s my impression that the number of state jobs which are Rutan-exempt is a small fraction of the total, although these jobs tend to be higher level ones with more authority. If Illinois citizens want no political hiring at all in state government, pass a new law. Clifford gabbling on about character flaws won’t do it.

Clifford may have been either too naive or too uninformed for this job.

Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:23 am
Moral character flaw? That guy is unreal. The people who should be testifying are the people that thought he ever run a world-class commuter rail system like Metra.

And he basically admitted that he only went to the IG when he thought he might lose his job. All a ploy to pretend like he was a whistleblower.

Comment by Raising Kane Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:23 am
@RonOglesby Exactly - we’ve become so beat down by corruption that many of us don’t even flinch at things a grade schooler could recognize as wrong. The local media has grown far too comfortable and polite, to the point that instead of backing reformers they mock them or pat them on the head with a “oh, that’s so cute” tone.

Comment by lake county democrat Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:26 am
This reminds me a little of the start of the unraveling of George Ryan. What was once viewed as acceptable by old school politicians is no longer okay in today’s world. More transparency in government operations brings things like this to the public’s attention and they don’t think it’s right. Then the media picks up on it and pretty soon you have a full blown scandal.

Comment by Leave a Light on George Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:28 am
===What was once viewed as acceptable by old school politicians is no longer okay in today’s world.===

Except George broke the law. Even Clifford says MJM didn’t break the law.

Take a breath.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:32 am
“Moral”…”Ethical”…

When you get to “illegal”, you just let me know.

I wonder if there was a “Letter of Recommendation” sent on Mr. Clifford’s behalf for the Metra job.

That would be fun …

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:40 am
I’m breathing fine except for the humidity.

I’m just saying the start of this story sounds a little familiar.

Comment by Leave a Light on George Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:41 am
In all fairness, Clifford’s opinion as to whether or not a law was broken is irrelevant. That is a determination to be made by the USAO or IL AG. Oh wait…

Comment by Centennial Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:49 am
===Clifford’s opinion as to whether or not a law was broken is irrelevant===

Actually, it is because he claimed the political pressure was illegal in his memo.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:51 am
His claim of illegality may have shined a light on the issue, but his opinion is irrelevant as far as deciding whether an indictable offense actually occurred.

Comment by Centennial Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:57 am
the sound on this live feed is awful. any other options for live stream? do they need a mult box at this hearing?

Comment by anon Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:58 am
Listening to this hearing, it seems obvious that the hiring issue is a complete sideshow.

The real story is the contracting, and how it was or was not abused.
Metra is clearly uneasy about getting into that subject.

Comment by ILPundit Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 10:59 am
I think Rich just hit on the crux of the great Clifford revelation, nothing the Speaker did, requested through a lobbyist, or suggested to Metra Board members was in any way illegal according to Clifford’s testimony. But when one listened to a reporter like Carol Marin this week one was led to believe the Speaker was on his way to prison and Clifford was going to blow up everything Watergate style. That has not happened.

Does this paint a pretty picture, no, but at least for those of us on this blog the use of Metra’s management positions for political appointees doesn’t come as news, similarly with the Illinois Tollway Authority.

Comment by Rod Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:00 am
“Illegal” is an ambiguous term. It can refer to either a violation of civil or criminal law. Was Ward in a Rutan-exempt position or not? The answer to that question may affect whether a civil violation of law occurred.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:00 am
If it can be shown, directly or can be reasonably inferred,that Madigan threatened official action, or withholding of official action, in return for something of value, e.g., a raise or a job, even for someone else, then it may very well be illegal.

Comment by Quid-Pro-Quiote Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:03 am
==The other targeted for termination was the chief procurement officer, Clifford said.==
Chief procurement officer (and Clifford) must have thought that the job was to buy from the best low-cost vendor.

Comment by Robert the Bruce Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:20 am
“Moral character flaw” sucks as a talking point. So this hot witness says Madigan broke no laws but has a moral character flaw? This guy has blown it already. Nobody likes a scold. He would have done better to just stick to the facts.

Comment by Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:27 am
If these shenandigans aren’t illegal, there sure not very ethical…no pol or their underlings likes to go under the microscope…very untidy business.

Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:37 am
The Huggins business partner revelation looks fascinating. This sort of messiness is probably why Metra didn’t want any light.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:44 am
The CYNTHIA RUTAN, et al., v. REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ILLINOIS, et al. decision addressed the constitutionality of several related political patronage practices — whether promotion, transfer, recall, and hiring decisions involving low-level public employees may be constitutionally based on party affiliation and support. The court found these practices to be unconstitutional.

Governor Thompson issued an executive order proclaiming a hiring freeze for every agency, bureau, board, or commission subject to his control and was found to have used a political practice to circumvent this rule when he wanted to. Even if Patrick Ward would have been covered by this decision to equate the Speaker’s authority relative to Metra to Governor Thompson’s administrative authority in the case in question seems specious.

Legally the Speaker has no administrative authority over Metra, it could be argued that the Speaker because of the House rules may be able to block funding for Metra but even that authority may be limited by action of the full House.

Moreover, I saw no claim made by Clifford that the Speaker actually blocked funding legislation. There is a claim by Clifford that he was removed effectively by the Speaker bringing pressure on members of the Metra Board, but none of the Board members named in the memo will testify to that as far as I can tell.

I know there are a lot of people out to take down the Speaker as an old style politician, but I honestly don’t see anything sticking to him from what was in the memo or from Clifford’s testimony today.

Comment by Rod Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:53 am
Joe Gagliardo is in a tough position here. The questions of who his client is, and to whom he owes legal duties, are not simple questions.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 11:57 am
Agree that nothing is sticking to Speaker Madigan. I doubt he planned it this way, but by making headlines with Madigan’s name, it looks like Clifford ended up with the attention he wanted to try to settle some scores with a couple board members.

Comment by Robert the Bruce Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:01 pm
Yeah, the Huggins allegations are pretty meaty. The scribble says Huggins wants to testify.

Be my guest, sir, lol.

I like the idea of a scorned agency CEO taking questions in public. Plenty of heat, but possibly some light, too.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:04 pm
He was cleaning up practices at the agency that were 100 yrs old? Alex, the RTA was founded in 1975, Metra in 1983.

Comment by low level Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:17 pm
–He was cleaning up practices at the agency that were 100 yrs old? Alex, the RTA was founded in 1975, Metra in 1983.–

LOL, I just saw that. Very strange thing to say.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:19 pm
To me the interesting revelation that seems to be underplayed and maybe I just missed it is that Madigan’ son in law is the the Chief of Staff for the RTA. now that is business as usual in Illinois.

Comment by Jake Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:26 pm
I also realize there is a regular Jake poster on here. that is not me. I posted the previous comment.

Comment by Jake L. Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:27 pm
O’Halloran up to bat now.

It appears someone is not telling the truth.

Or maybe it’s just a Rashomon effect.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:27 pm
–To me the interesting revelation that seems to be underplayed and maybe I just missed it is that Madigan’ son in law is the the Chief of Staff for the RTA–

And the old man couldn’t get a pal a raise.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:29 pm
Sounds just like a bad CEO breakup in the private sector, influence peddling and all. Oh how we like our high horses when criticizing govt!

Agree the personnel recommendations, not followed, don’t really mean much, but the contracting and money issues could be a big deal.

Comment by walkinfool Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 12:38 pm
O’Halloran and Huggins issue categorical denials — but the contrast between them and Clifford is stark.

Clifford came across as cool, professional, well informed, and frankly, politically naive.

O’Halloran, in particular, seems to have just plain freaked out. Metra needs to keep him away from microphones.

Comment by ILPundit Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 1:07 pm
I do think there’s a Rashomon effect thing happening with these people. The competing realities are all self-serving. I don’t want Clifford O’Halloran or Huggins should at the top of an organization.

Comment by In 630 Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 1:32 pm
You will find Targets finger in the pie of many a Chicago and sister agencies construction project.

Comment by Look is here Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 1:40 pm
Clifford seems to be wanting his day or month in the limelight to explain himself, but he’s leaving Illinois, right, with or without his $700k. Even he can’t be so delusional as to belive he’d be rehired.

But we are left with O’Halloran and a the rest of the board members, most of whom went along with this lucrative (in government terms) golden parachute without much discussion, it seems. They are the problem. How long will we have to wait for the next bad decision? Not long, I bet. Time for these folks to go back to private life. Especially O’Halloran. What are boards for, if not to make tough decisions well and protect the public, in the case of public boards. This one didn’t.

Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 1:58 pm
—
Clifford seems to be wanting his day or month in the limelight to explain himself, but he’s leaving Illinois, right, with or without his $700k. Even he can’t be so delusional as to belive he’d be rehired.
—

Yeah, but to get another sweet position somewhere else its easier to show you left because THEY were so corrupt and it wasnt YOU.

He gets his money now, but what happens in the next year so when he is looking for the next spot.

Comment by RonOglesby Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 2:24 pm
OW- I too would love to see who Clifford’s “letter of recommendation” came from- because it truly would’ve had to be from someone with political clout given the position. And now he’s politically naïve- interesting.

Comment by carbaby Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 3:34 pm
I think it is not possible for the Speaker’s (or any other politician, including county chairmen)request to be a Rutan violation. That would be a violation of the politician’s free speech rights. Instead, it could be a violation by a state official to perform the requested action based primarily on the politician’s request.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 4:05 pm
Clifford comes off as a big time clown to me. He is talking a big game with little to back him up. What the Speaker did, while right up against the ethical line, is not wrong, the Huggins issues seems far more interesting with a far greater potential for Lisa Madigan, Super AG to come corruption busting as rabid people here want. Of course, even if she were investigating this and her father, the same rabid people would complain that she didn’t recuse herself or ask another agency to investigate. All the while, there is presumably an actual investigation going on by the OEIG.

Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 4:40 pm
During the hearing Clifford handed out his statement and a packet of information, including recommendation letters he asked 4 board members to write for him to assist with finding a new job.

Apparently it’s ok if he asks for a recommendation from Metra Board members at the same time they’re voting on a severance package, but not ok for Pat Ward to ask for a recommendation from the Speaker.

Comment by neverendingstory Wednesday, Jul 17, 13 @ 4:51 pm