UPDATED: O’Halloran Earned Money as an Orland Park Trustee Against State Law

Originally posted at 8:23 a.m. Tuesday, July 30.

Orland Park trustee and Metra board chairman Brad O’Halloran continued to receive about $22,000 as a village trustee after he was appointed to the Metra board, though state law restricts Metra board directors from collecting compensation while in any other government position, according to the Chicago Tribune. 

O’Halloran continued to receive compensation from Orland Park for 16 months until first telling the village to stop payments in Dec. 2012, but did not attempt to repay the village until July 12 — two days after O’Halloran was questioned by the Regional Transportation Authority board about former Metra CEO Alex Clifford’s severance package, the Tribune reported.

In June, the Metra board voted 9-1 to accept Clifford’s resignation with a severance deal that could cost as much as $718,000. About $300,000 for the agreement would be granted to Clifford if he doesn’t get a job in the next 14 months. Clifford had less than a year left on his contract with Metra.

Clifford wrote in a memo that political pressure was placed on him to hire certain people and give a raise to an employee. Clifford names O’Halloran, Metra board member Larry Huggins and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in his memo. When he refused to do so, Clifford said that led to a push to remove him from the job. 

In the July 12 letter to the Village of Orland Park, O’Halloran said it was his intent that compensation from the village were to stop as of July 2011, but he found he was still receiving trustee pay into a deferred compensation plan, according to the Tribune. With the letter, he included a check for $22,167.36.

O’Halloran released the following statement:

“I recently was told that the Village of Orland Park made contributions to an IMRF account and a Trustee 457 Plan for which I was the beneficiary, as well as funding standard life insurance, Medicare and Social Security benefits for me, between July 2011 and November 2012.  I am an elected Village Trustee, but I had no intention to be compensated while I serve on the Metra board.  When I was told about these contributions, I asked for an accounting of the amounts involved and immediately wrote a check to the Village for the entire amount.  The Village responded that mechanisms exist for it to obtain a refund of unintended contributions like these directly from the administrators of the accounts that received the funds. I understand the Village is utilizing those normal refund mechanisms and has decided to hold rather than cash my check in the interim.  In the meantime, I will cooperate fully to help the Village obtain refunds from the payees.  I am proud of my service as a Trustee of Orland Park, which is not and has never been about the compensation.”

O’Halloran did not respond to questions about when he was first notified about the compensation, nor did he specify any steps taken on his part to forego payments from the village in any form for trustee services immediately after his appointment to the Metra board.

The Regional Transportation Act instructs Metra board directors as follows, in regard to serving on other boards, or working in transit:

“No director, while serving as such, shall be an officer, a member of the board of directors or trustee or an employee of any transportation agency, or be an employee of the State of Illinois or any department or agency thereof, or of any unit of local government or receive any compensation from any elected or appointed office under the Constitution and laws of Illinois.”

Orland Park Public Information Officer Joe LaMargo said the village has no record of O’Halloran contacting the village about canceling his compensation before Dec. 2012. LaMargo couldn’t elaborate on why O’Halloran “recently was told” about the compensation, as said in his statement, or who communicated with him about it.

O'Halloran's check was for slightly more than the amount paid to him, according to LaMargo. The village is holding the check while they get the money back from the deferred accounts, as well as the benefit hubs such as Social Security, LaMargo said.

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