Metra board adds not-so-new face

One of the newest members on Metra's board of directors already has a history with the agency.

Orland Park Trustee Brad O'Halloran served as Metra director for nine months in 2003, leaving because of time commitments.

He is one of three newcomers named to the troubled agency this year. Metra was shaken up in 2010 by an investigation into financial improprieties by Executive Director Phil Pagano who killed himself last year as the scandal was breaking. Calls from the public and Illinois senators for the entire board to step down resulted in a compromise last week in which directors serving during the Pagano era will leave by the end of June 2012.O'Halloran is regional director of development for the University of Notre Dame and has headed up the Orland Park village board's finance and public safety committees.

#8220;I'm looking at this as a fresh start with Metra,#8221; he said.

Budget shortfalls are among the major issues facing the agency, O'Halloran noted. #8220;They have legacy costs that are challenging and a lot of capital (needs).#8221;O'Halloran said he uses Metra regularly to reach his office in Chicago. He was selected by Cook County commissioners to replace outgoing Director Jim Dodge, also an Orland Park trustee.

O'Halloran's son works for Acquity Group which redesigned and maintains Metra's website, under a more than $1.5 million contract. O'Halloran said he would recuse himself from any board business dealing with Acquity.