Outgoing chair talks about a dark year and change at Metra

Throughout the entire excruciating mess involving Phil Pagano’s misuse of Metra funds, Carole Doris has been stoic.

Surrounded by microphones and cameras or under scrutiny by state lawmakers, she’s kept her composure even when discussing the suicide of Pagano, who walked in front of a Metra train in May 2010.

It wasn’t until Doris stepped away from Metra Friday that she showed emotion, choking back tears while announcing her resignation.

“It’s a milestone event,” she explained later.

Usually it was the quotable, tell-it-like-it-is Pagano who fielded media questions. But when news broke that Pagano’s frankness was a facade and he’d swindled at least $475,000 in unauthorized vacation pay and forged her signature on a related document, Doris was the go-to person.

“There has to be a spokesman and I accepted my obligation,” the former prosecutor said.

It was a dark time for Metra as federal regulators stepped in to investigate and longtime employees coped with the horrible nature of Pagano’s death.

“The circumstances were very painful. Many people were hurt professionally and personally,” Doris said.

“I was shocked at the beginning. Particularly at the forgeries.”

She brought in a law firm that delved into the scandal.

“We had to find out the extent of the problem and immediately start making changes and to do it transparently. That’s what we tried to do, naysayers notwithstanding,” Doris said.

With so much money at stake and revelations that Pagano enjoyed unbridled authority, criticism of Metra’s leaders has been plentiful. There’s political pressure for the entire board to step down and legislation seeking to remove directors from office.

“People say, ‘How could you have not seen it?’ No one saw it,” Doris said.

“There was no reason to think he was doing that. It didn’t appear he was living beyond his means. We had years of audits and not even a management letter.”

Since the scandal broke, not even her critics can accuse Doris of not putting enough hours into the job.

“It’s been a challenge. I feel I wanted to meet that challenge,” she said.

Doris, who lives in Downers Grove, was appointed to the board in 2003 and took over the chairmanship in 2006.

She counts among her accomplishments upgrading the Metra Electric Line to the South suburbs and opening up new stations.

The board of directors will vote on a new chairman and whoever takes over will face the persistent problem of rising costs and stagnant revenues for transit.

“With all the financial challenges, it is a bleak picture moving forward,” Doris said. “We all have to do more with less. The system is so heavy on infrastructure we have to stop stealing from capital funds as a long-term strategy. It’s very dangerous.”

Will you miss it? I asked her.

“Absolutely. I enjoyed working with the people here and made wonderful friends.”

In the aftermath, Metra officials hired Alex Clifford as the new executive director and point to changes in policy to prevent nepotism and establish checks and balances. The Federal Transit Administration last week lifted restrictions on funding it instituted earlier.

“The new CEO is top notch,” Doris said. “There’s an uptick in morale.”

As to why she’s resigning now, Doris said it’s the right time, adding “I enjoyed every moment.”