(The Chicago Tribune posted the following article on its website on February 15.)
ORLAND PARK, Ill. — Metra board member Brad O’Halloran, appointed last July to increase representation of the south and southwest suburbs at the commuter railroad, has resigned.
O’Halloran, who is also an Orland Park village trustee, Friday cited time constraints as his reason for leaving Metra.
He was a member of a Metra committee appointed last year to address alleged inequities in service and amenities faced by Metra Electric Line riders, compared to the allocation of resources for Metra customers in the north and western suburbs.
O’Halloran put pressure on Metra officials to speed up the timetable for equipping Electric Line trains with toilets. He and the two other committee members, Carole Doris and Elonzo Hill, also got fare turnstiles removed at Electric Line stations in November. The Electric Line was the only Metra route that still used fare-collection gates.
“I really wanted to see through the Electric Line situation to the end, but I was doing too much juggling of my professional and family commitments and my commitment to Orland Park to do the job the way I wanted to do it,” O’Halloran said.
The committee is preparing recommendations on the Electric Line.
The seven suburban members of the Cook County Board will select O’Halloran’s replacement.