Statewide update—March 21, 2010

Chicago Sun-Times—McHenry County State’s Attorney Bianchi’s misconduct trial begins Monday, “The twice-elected Republican is standing trial on 21 felony charges alleging he ordered employees to do political work for him during office hours while they were supposed to be carrying out their official duties.”

• Daily Herald—State investigating Oak Brook mayor’s full-time job, “In addition to serving as the part-time village president of Oak Brook, John Craig has a full-time job with the state that pays $64,000 a year.  But a government watchdog now is trying to find out whether Craig, 76, is putting in a full day’s work on his job with the secretary of state’s office.”

• Daily Herald—RTA aims to put Metra, Pace, CTA on same track, “The Regional Transportation Authority laid out long-term plans Thursday to meld service and operations at its three transit agencies, in proposals ranging from implementing a universal fare card to unifying lobbying efforts.”

• The Southern—Lawmakers look to save Illinois’ gambling industry, “House Bill 3107 would allow horse race tracks in the Chicago area to have slot machines.”

Chicagoland Transit Agencies on Track for Gov’t-Approved Watchdog

Amid the confusion and chaos of this week’s legislative session in Springfield, the House and Senate passed a groundbreaking bill targeting the fraud, waste and corruption that plagues the Chicago area’s mass transit systems.

The bill’s supporters expect the Governor to approve the measure.

The Better Government Association has been working with Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest), good-government advocates and the RTA to craft legislation that creates an independent inspector general for the transit agency that oversees the RTA, Metra, PACE and CTA.

The resulting bill, Senate Bill 3964, was co-sponsored by Sen. Garret and Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), and creates an independent inspector general to oversee the boards and employees at RTA, Metra, PACE, and CTA.

The inspector general will be housed in the Office of the Executive Inspector General, which already oversees the activities of the Governor’s office and its agencies.

Sen. Garrett has been working on the legislation with leaders at the transit agencies since last spring when news reports emerged detailing how Metra’s Executive Director Phil Pagano gave himself unapproved payouts on future vacation time. The unauthorized payout of $56,000 came on top of his salary of more than $250,000.

Ultimately, questions surrounding Pagano’s actions lead to his suspension. In May 2010, Pagano, 60, was found dead of an apparent suicide.

The BGA is committed to eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse of public resources. This legislation is an important step toward making the Chicago area’s mass transit systems more open and accountable.