(The following article by Mark J. Konkol was posted on the Chicago Sun-Times website on March 1.)
CHICAGO — Metra board members agreed to give the commuter railroad’s top two bosses hefty salary hikes in a closed meeting that violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act, according to Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.
A letter Monday from Madigan’s office states: “Board action was necessary to move forward with the salary changes and, as such, the board was required to take that action in an open meeting.”
To correct the violation, the attorney general’s office recommends taking action on the salary changes during a future regularly scheduled meeting, according to the letter.
A violation of the act is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,500 and up to 30 days in jail.
But Madigan spokeswoman Melissa Merz said, “at this point, it is our position that citizens would be best served if the board corrects the violation by conducting a vote on this matter in an open meeting.”
Bonuses in thin times
The letter also offers to provide the Metra board with a “training session” regarding following the open meetings act.
The move came after the Chicago Sun-Times reported Executive Director Philip Pagano and his top deputy Richard Tidwell were paid annual bonuses of 20 percent of their salaries even as the agency works to get more transit funding from Springfield.
On Dec. 17, board members came to a “consensus” during an executive session to allow board chairman Jeffrey Ladd to fold those bonuses — $40,000 and $35,000 respectively — directly into Pagano’s and Tidwell’s salaries. That boosted Pagano’s salary to $243,678, with Tidwell getting paid $217,770.
Metra general counsel Michael Noland has said no “final action” was taken during the closed-door meeting, arguing Ladd has authority to make the salary changes even though he gets board approval in advance.
Ladd said he had not received the letter and declined to comment. Noland did not return a call seeking comment.
Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said staff is reviewing the letter.
“In principle, we don’t agree with some of the things [the letter] says. We will review exactly what it says and decide how to further proceed,” she said.
Pay hikes for non-unionized
After Ladd ordered salary changes, Pagano followed suit by hiking chief operating officer Vaughn Stoner’s salary to $163,160 — folding in a $18,500 bonus and a 2 percent cost of living pay increase.
In January, Metra’s 479 management employees also received pay increases, but they came at a price.
While Pagano doled out raises to non-union workers, he did not authorize end-of-the-year bonuses that have offset stagnant wages since 2001. That left those workers with a de facto pay cut last year.
Pagano, Tidwell and Stoner, however, got both the salary hike and the bonus.