Mulder defends Metra record

As critics call for the resignation of all Metra board members, Arlene Mulder thinks past problems are the reason directors should stay.

“We’re trying to right the wrongs that occurred,” the Metra director and Arlington Heights mayor said.

Several state senators are pushing for the Metra board to step down a year after news of financial misconduct by former Executive Director Phil Pagano rocked the agency.

The agency introduced checks and balances to prevent abuses of power occurring under Pagano, Mulder said, and have brought in new blood with Executive Director Alex Clifford.

Directors instituting those changes should be allowed to see them through and regain the public trust, she explained.

“I‘m not proud of the fact we didn’t get suspicious, but the vacation time was hidden from us,” Mulder said, referring to Pagano’s taking at least $475,000 in unauthorized time off. “We’ve worked very hard to correct it.”

The access Metra directors had to information under Pagano was limited to what he disclosed, Mulder said, when asked how the agency compared to village government.

In Arlington Heights, “I see every line item on the budget, I go through it department by department.”

Mulder was appointed to the board in 2005 and reappointed for a three-year term in 2010.

Regarding the board’s fate, “I believe there are serious problems at Metra,” said Cook County Commissioner Tim Schneider, of Bartlett, who is one of the commissioners responsible for Mulder’s appointment.

“I think there needs to be more investigation done before jumping to any conclusions. I need to sit down with my appointee and see what their responsibilities were.”