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* Patrick Collins has a well-known dislike for House Speaker Michael Madigan which surfaced repeatedly during his days chairing the governor’s’s reform commission. So, this should get interesting…
Former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins will perform an independent investigation and make recommendations concerning issues raised by former Metra CEO Alex Clifford in his April 3, 2013, memo and at the July 17 RTA hearing, Metra announced today.
Collins will also investigate Metra’s hiring and contract policies, the agency said in a news release.
Collins will report to the full Metra board in public session within 90 days. As part of his work, Collins will follow up on Metra’s initial review and investigate new allegations made by Clifford, Metra said.
* If anything, nobody in their right mind can now say that Metra Chairman Brad O’Halloran is soft-pedaling the scandal with this move. Collins is relentless…
“Patrick Collins has an unquestioned reputation for integrity, honesty and fighting corruption,” O’Halloran said in a statement. “I look forward to an unflinching report which makes recommendations that help the agency restore confidence with riders, taxpayers and the communities we serve.”
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 10:26 am
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meh.
Now if they turned him loose to investigate all of Metra, we might be on to something.
As Rich pinted out yesterday, this situation is very unseemly but unlikely to be illegal. Perhaps why they are willing to unleash the “big dog”, Collins. They know he won’t find anything with teeth.
Which raises the question… does Metra have an inspector general? If not, they could use one.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 10:45 am
hire the best to make sure there is no allegation of sweeping something under the rug. Collins will do the right thing without pique.
Second on the question of why no IG at Metra. the days of an outside company taking a look should have been well over a long time ago. no substitute for one person on the job, and only that job.
Comment by Amalia Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 10:58 am
good. as many have discussed, no one has identified an illegal act, or statute that was violated by the speaker. that misses the point.
when the speaker intervenes in an agency, to “merely” endorse an action on behalf of a (contributor) constituent, he knows or at least expects, that people will act out of fear, or to curry favor. if his intervention is expected to have no effect, there is no point in doing it. (a letter from a first term member of the minority party = ho hum. a suggestion from the speaker = priceless)
clifford said no to the raise for ward. fine. that might have been the end of it. those around him, though, were apparently very upset that failure to accede to the speaker’s recommendation would cause real damage to agency funding. that may have been a mistaken fearful response, or it might have been in response to a further “message” through other channels.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 10:58 am
===…or it might have been in response to a further “message” through other channels===
Checking with Monique Davis on this Anonymous 10:58. You may be on to something here…
Comment by PublicServant Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:04 am
The state Executive Inspector General covers Metra:
http://metrarail.com/content/metra/en/home/about_metra/ethics/office_of_inspectorgeneral.html
If Collins looks into Metra contracting, it could get interesting.
Comment by Keyrock Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:07 am
good point, @amalia.
Even if nothing illegal took place, get the best on the case to make it clear nothing was swept under the rug. I am left wondering, however, if they would have brought him out in the event of a scandal likely to reveal illegal behavior. Would we get Collins then? Or “Joe Smith” that somebody sent?
And we’re in definite agreement - Metra needs an IG.
They have since the Pagano days/scandal/tragedy, if not earlier.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:10 am
@Formerly Known As, tx, though I think that if there is a scintilla of something wrong, including ethical violations, Collins will find it. I don’t think it’s an empty move.
Comment by Amalia Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:16 am
Illegal no, unethical more than likely..
Always admired Collins, get to it sir..
Comment by Loop Lady Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:17 am
anonymous at 10:58 is langhorne.
it is easy to send a message. clifford says no. as an example, a couple days later a staffer wants a list of all raises given, recent hires, vacancies, etc.
Comment by langhorne Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:20 am
“get the best on the case”
Absolutely.
Fortunately “the best” in Illinois, in knowledge, respect from all parties, and judgment, is on the case already — Meza, the State Inspector General.
Collins is a useful critic, and a good voice to hear from. But he has shown a lack of comprehensive understanding, and ability to propose solutions that could work. He was the wrong choice for PQ’s commission, though it did make a good political statement, at first.
Comment by walkinfool Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:26 am
Patrick Collins is also now involved in the DuPage Forest Preserve corruption case.
http://countyleaks.blogspot.com/2013/07/now-entering-ring-heavyweight-former.html
Comment by DuPage Taxpayer Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:37 am
http://www.nwherald.com/2013/07/17/ousted-metra-ceo-describes-rough-ill-politics/amnuh4j/
Clifford also described an episode in which he was asked to simply write a $50,000 check to an organization of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s choosing…
Might this be somewhat less than legal? Was it his PERSONAL money he was asked to hand over? Taxpayer money??
Comment by Pat C Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:37 am
Mr. O’Halloran testified this week that he had no relationship with the Speaker. That the Speaker had not in any way threatened Metra funding and that he communicated nothing to Alex Clifford in relation to a threat to Metra funding coming from the Speaker.
I think it is fair to say that by having Patrick Collins perform an independent investigation and make recommendations concerning issues raised by former Metra CEO Alex Clifford Mr. O’Halloran clearly believes his testimony will hold up. If O’Halloran’s testimony holds up the Speaker can only be found guilty possibly of being an over zealous friend of Mr. Ward.
Comment by Rod Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:38 am
Pat, use the Google. There’s a long explanation.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:38 am
Great respect for Collins, but does anyone else think it odd that the response to Clifford’s allegation that O’Halloran and another board member pressured Clifford to do something, is that O’Halloran announces the hiring of an outside firm to investigate? I hope O’Halloran will give Collins room to do what needs doing.
Comment by Elo Kiddies Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:41 am
Metra’s version of crisis management is to spend more of our taxdollars on an investigation.
I predict Collins will be conducting an “ongoing investigation” for a very, very, long time.
Public records will no longer be released to the public under FOIA because of an “ongoing investigation.”
Collin’s reports to the Board will also not be released to the public under FOIA, citing attorney /client privilege, communications with auditor, etc.
Comment by Skeptic Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:48 am
Ill. Executive Inspector General staff for RTA/Metra:
http://www2.illinois.gov/oeig/Pages/RTB_Staff.aspx
Comment by Keyrock Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 11:59 am
Who is going to investigate Clifford and his motives. His choiice of an attorney which cloaks him as a choirboy shows he knows how to play the game.
Comment by roscoe tom Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 12:18 pm
Per Rod, you figure Metra does this because they know or believe no laws were broken, but good for them nontheless. I’ll continue to carp that the real scandal is that this practice is both legal (apparently) and acceptable to so many.
Comment by lake county democrat Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 12:54 pm
Agree with Skeptic…while the media has solely focused on the allegations about the Speaker’s raise request, it was also extremely troubling to contemplate the excessive amounts of taxpayer money spent at Metra, from the “settlement” amount, to salaries, to outside legal counsel even for routine operations, to search firms, to the special counsel hired, etc. etc. And now, yet another investigation paid for by taxpayers? I’d like to take what taxpayer money will be spent on Collins and put it toward some of the CPS budget cuts which are further eroding our status as a world class city…it’s a shame.
Comment by Oh, please.... Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 3:20 pm
Does anyone believe that the “internal investigation” of Metra three years ago was complete?
DuPage attorney James Sotos conducted this “investigation” which didn’t lead to a single prosecution. Pagano was pretty much blamed for everything after his death.
None of Sotos’ “internal investigations” ever lead to prosecutions. Is this why he was chosen?
I have written about a lot about Sotos:
http://countyleaks.blogspot.com/2011/09/targeting-david-protess-six-years-ardc.html
Comment by CountyLeaks Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 3:31 pm
Good payday for White Knight Collins. I’m sure there will be many breathless, if light, daily updates on WLS-AM.
He should bring in a man who knows the streets (North Michigan Avenue) like Kass and blow the lid off the whole Combine.
And while they’re at it, I’d like to know what happened to that quart of strawberries, too.
After the sturm and drang of the last few days, it seems apparent to me that the shakedown artist was Clifford. He wanted a long-term contract, put out some not-so-veiled threats, but didn’t get it.
Metra should have fired him and let him sue.
But it’s a good idea to keep a light on Metra.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 4:24 pm
Good guy to head the inquiry, because as a Rider from time to time, just some RIDERship improvements need to be made, rising ticket prices need to be SERiously reconsidered in terms of scaling back the cost to the average Joe and Sue Consumer, and, especially given many of the recent, seriously problematic issues politically that have arisen, a thorogh, no-holds-barred investigation be conducted with strong recommendations for Reform…!
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 4:42 pm
The word above should have been spelled “thorough….” Rushing to beat Rich’s always unknown, although occasionally predictable, “shut down the Shop” for Comments time on Fridays!!!
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Friday, Jul 19, 13 @ 4:44 pm