Metra chair will speak to RTA board

Metra Chairman Brad O’Halloran will face scrutiny from Regional Transportation Authority directors next week over the separation agreement given to former CEO Alex Clifford.

Metra directors authorized a $442,000 severance deal with Clifford June 21, but provisos in the agreement could allow him to receive as much as $749,000 if he doesn’t find another job within a specified period.

Both Clifford and Metra directors have kept quiet about the decision, citing a gag order in the pact. Board member Jack Schaffer of Cary, however, who voted no, has blamed O’Halloran for pushing the CEO out.

O’Halloran said in a statement last month that the severance package was required to avoid lawsuits and noted that the agency needs a leader who can communicate well with lawmakers to secure more funding.

But the move has sparked a backlash from legislators as well as the RTA. The agency’s Chairman John S. Gates Jr. said the RTA would scrutinize the deal to see if it was financially prudent.

O’Halloran, an Orland Park trustee, will appear before the RTA board at a 9 a.m. meeting Wednesday, July 10. The agency has financial oversight of Pace, Metra and the CTA.