Leadership

Dear Riders,

This past year has been one of change and new beginnings for Metra’s leadership and the agency as a whole. Change is never easy but the Board and Metra’s staff remain committed to working together with the leaders of this region to ensure that our rail system continues to provide the safe and reliable transportation that our riders depend upon.

The leadership change at this agency has created its own set of challenges but has also brought fresh ideas to the table. Our new leadership team is engaging Metra’s Board of Directors more than ever before and providing more information so that we have the facts that we need to guide this agency and make responsible decisions. The result is better policy, advocacy and governance.

I feel strongly that how we’ve emerged from this crisis is due to the abilities of our employees. Throughout the turmoil of the past two years, Metra employees have continued to do an exemplary job of operating this railroad and deserve our respect. They answered management’s call and worked together to identify cost efficiencies while preserving safety and service. Despite rumors to the contrary, outside auditors found no widespread fraud or abuse at the agency. Metra’s employees have every reason to hold their heads high.

Metra is moving forward and taking the steps necessary to refresh our mission to provide exemplary service to the six county region with transparency and accountability. We are communicating honestly and openly with riders, government officials and employees and using the information we gather to optimize our financial and physical resources.

The safety of our riders and employees will continue to be our guiding star as we navigate through the financial and physical challenges ahead. Safety has been and will always be the first consideration in policy and operational decisions.

Metra is committed to changing how we manage our budget and the previous practices used to balance it. We have communicated honestly and openly with the public throughout the 2012 budget process. The board has heard our customers’ opinions on fare increases and service cuts. We have concluded that the practice of sacrificing capital dollars to cover our operating deficit is not sustainable. The risks to our ability to provide safe and reliable service over the years to come are too great.

The Metra Board understands that our nation’s slow recovery from this recession has placed pressure on everyone’s bottom line. However, we are obligated by the RTA Act to balance our budget. For 2012, we have concluded that this requires a significant fare increase. We have also concluded that in the future it is in our customers’ best interests to have moderate, regular fare increases instead of the painful, sporadic increases like the one we face today.

As I stated at the beginning of this letter, change is hard for everyone. We know we are making decisions that will have a significant impact on our riders, but we are carrying out our deliberations openly and transparently so the public and our stakeholders understand the hard choices confronting us.

We understand that Metra has a responsibility to every community and each individual we interact with to act with respect and integrity. We believe in focusing on the passenger experience, because the quality of our service is reflected not just by what we put into it, but what our riders get out of it. We know we make a difference every day to every one of our customers.

Metra plans to remain a vital part of this region’s transportation infrastructure providing value to our riders and the communities we serve. We invite you to review this 2012 Program and Budget document to learn more about our plans.

Sincerely,
Larry A. Huggins
Acting Chairman
Metra Board of Directors

JACK SCHAFFER
Treasurer

Jack Schaffer was appointed to the Metra Board, in 2006 representing McHenry County. In May 2009, he was elected board treasurer.

Mr. Schaffer currently owns Liberty Outdoor Advertising and Liberty Self Storage, both located in Crystal Lake, Ill.

From 1999 to 2003, Mr. Schaffer worked as a consultant and lobbyist specializing in insurance industry issues.  Prior to his work as a consultant, Mr. Schaffer served as commissioner of the Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate.

From 1973 to 1999, Mr. Schaffer served as an Illinois state senator, holding several leadership positions including caucus chairman, minority whip and minority leader.

Before his election to the Senate, Mr. Schaffer worked as an auditor for McHenry County.

Mr. Schaffer is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in Business Management.

ARLENE J. MULDER
Secretary

Arlene J. Mulder was appointed to the Metra Board in 2005 by the suburban members of the Cook County Board. She was elected secretary of the board in 2006.

Ms. Mulder is the mayor of Arlington Heights, where she was reelected for a fifth term in April 2009. Prior to her election as mayor, she served for 14 years on the Arlington Heights Park District Board of Commissioners and the Arlington Heights Village Board.

Mayor Mulder is vice president of the Illinois Municipal League and serves on the executive board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She is also a member and past president of the Northwest Municipal Conference.

Mayor Mulder received a B.A. in Biology and Physical Education from San Francisco State University. She is a 2005 graduate of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Paul C. Darley
Director

Paul C. Darley was appointed to the Commuter Rail Board (Metra) in 2011 by the Chairman of the DuPage County Board.

Mr. Darley is currently president and CEO of W.S. Darley & Co. Founded in 1908, W.S. Darley & Co. is a fourth generation family-owned business specializing the manufacture of equipment for the fire fighting industry with sales of more than $110 million in 2010.

He began his career with W.S. Darley in 1985 in sales and was appointed president and CEO in 2010. During his career, Mr. Darley has traveled widely and has been a featured speaker at more than 200 industry events.

Mr. Darley is past president of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Associations and has also served on the Board of Directors of the Fire & Emergency Manufacturers & Services Association (FEMSA). He currently serves on the Board of the Great Lakes Chapter of the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA).

Mr. Darley is a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago and holds a B.S. Degree in Marketing and Finance from Marquette University. He also holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

He is involved in numerous charitable and service organizations and is past chairman of the Windy City Chapter of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization).

Mr. Darley resides with his wife and three daughters in Elmhurst, Ill.

DON A. DE GRAFF
Director

Don A. De Graff was appointed to the Commuter Rail Board (Metra) in 2011 by the south suburban members of the Cook County Board.

Mr. De Graff has served as president of the Village of South Holland since 1994. In addition, he has more than 40 years of leadership in the banking and commercial lending industry. He currently serves as the President of MB Financial Bank, Southeast Region. Prior to this, he was president of First Savings and Loan of South Holland.

Mr. De Graff holds leadership positions in a number of civic and planning organizations. He currently serves as Chairman of the Chicago Southland SES Metra Commuter Rail Development Board and the MWRD Little Calumet River Watershed Planning Council. He is treasurer of the Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission. He is past president of the South Holland Business Association and former chairman of the Chicago Southland Alliance. He is also a member of the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation, the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Chicago Southland Chamber and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.

He holds a B.A. in Business Economics from Calvin College and a M.B.A. in Finance from Northwestern University. He has also completed career development course work at the University of Illinois, Champaign and is a licensed representative of the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Mr. De Graff is the recipient of an award of excellence from the South/Southwest Association of Realtors, a community leadership award from Christ Community Church of South Holland and an appreciation award for Christian leadership and support from the South Holland Ministerial Association. During his term as village president, South Holland received the outstanding municipality award from the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce.

JAMES C. LABELLE
Director

James C. LaBelle was appointed to the Metra Board in 2008 by the chairman of the Lake County Board.

Mr. LaBelle is currently employed as vice president of Metropolis 2020, a business-led civic organization created in 1999 by the Commercial Club of Chicago to promote sound regional growth.

Mr. LaBelle has a long record of public service including 20 years (1980-2000) as a member of the Lake County Board, including three terms as board chairman and one term as president of the Lake County Forest Preserve District.  In the late 1980s, he was also an assistant to Governor James R. Thompson.

Mr. LaBelle has a master’s degree in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University, where he also earned a B.A. in Political Science and Business Administration.

MIKE McCOY
Director

Mike McCoy was appointed to the Commuter Rail Board (Metra) in 2011 by the Chairman of the Kane County Board.

Mr. McCoy brings considerable experience in public service to the Metra Board having served as the Chairman of the Kane County Board from 1996 to 2004. He also previously served as Chairman of the Kane County Transportation Committee and the Kane County Board of Public Health. He is a past president of the Metro Counties Association of Illinois and the Illinois Counties Association and has served as Chairman of the Aurora Board of Election Commissioners.

Mr. McCoy is a professional engineer with more than 30 years experience in the field. He is currently a senior project manager at Omega & Associates in Lisle, Ill., where he manages construction engineering for large transportation projects, including the resurfacing of the Eisenhower and Stevenson expressways. 

During his tenure as Chairman of the Kane County Board, Mr. McCoy developed the county’s storm water management ordinance and established a floodplain and wetland protection fund for the county. The plan was recognized with a technical innovation award from the American Public Works Association. He also oversaw the completion of more than $100 million in capital improvements for the county, including an addition to the county jail, new facilities for the county clerk and the circuit clerk and a new transportation maintenance facility.

He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Quad County Urban League as well as numerous awards recognizing his efforts in land preservation and engineering.

Mr. McCoy is a 1974 graduate of West Aurora High School and an honors graduate from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1978.

JOHN E. PARTELOW
Director

John E. (Jack) Partelow was appointed to the Metra Board in July 2009 by the Will County Executive.

Mr. Partelow was chairman of the Will County Republican Party from 1998 until 2008. Prior to his selection as chairman, he served from 1996 to 1998 as the party’s secretary.

Mr. Partelow retired in 1994 after a 32-year career at Dunn and Bradstreet, where he rose to the position of senior vice president, national field operations.

Following his retirement, Mr. Partelow volunteered for the American Red Cross, focusing on strategic planning for the organization. He also served from 1995 to 1996 as a member of the Naperville Citizens Advisory Committee, working on the development of the city’s Master Transportation Plan.

Mr. Partelow and his wife Lorena have been married for 50 years and reside in Naperville. They have five children and eight grandchildren.

BRAD S. O’HALLORAN
Director

Brad S. O’Halloran was appointed to the Commuter Rail Board (Metra) in 2011 by the suburban members of the Cook County Board.

Mr. O’Halloran is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the Village of Orland Park, an office he has held since 1993. This is Mr. O’Halloran’s second time serving on the Metra Board, having previously represented suburban Cook County on the Board in 2003 and 2004.

In addition to his roles in public service, Mr. O’Halloran is currently the Regional Director of Development for the University of Notre Dame, furthering the philanthropic interests and objectives of the university in the Chicago area. He is also president and Executive Director of Transportation Development Corp., Inc., which provides strategic business development and consulting services to the transportation and travel industries. He also currently serves on the boards of the Old Plank Trail Bank in Mokena, Ill., and the Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago.

Prior to this, Mr. O’Halloran served as Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate Development for Duty Free International and its successor company, World Duty Free, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BAA, plc.   He also has more than 20 years experience in marketing, retailing and business development with firms such as Wireless Information Technologies, LLC, and Colgate-Palmolive Co.

Additionally, he has served as a board member of Airport Council International – North America and the State of Illinois Architectural Licensing Board.

Mr. O’Halloran earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1976 and completed an M.B.A. at Notre Dame in 2009.

Stanley C. Rakestraw
Director

Stanley C. Rakestraw was appointed to the Commuter Rail Board (Metra) by the President of the Cook County Board and confirmed by the members of the County Board in February 2012.

Mr. Rakestraw is co-founder, vice president and chief operating officer of SCR Medical Transportation. SCR Medical focuses on transportation for the mobility challenged providing paratransit services for clients throughout the Chicago region.

Mr. Rakestraw’s career includes financial auditing for a major Chicago area hospital and a government economic development office. He translated those skills to a career as a nursing home administrator, where his responsibilities ranged from implementing appropriate financial controls to developing training programs to improve the level of patient care while holding costs in line.

Prior to founding SCR, Mr. Rakestraw built upon his experience in health care administration as the principal of a health care consulting firm. In this role, he assisted clients in the development and implementation of management systems, troubleshooting, marketing and the development of policies and procedures for key aspects of client operations.

At SCR, Mr. Rakestraw has applied his background in financial management, auditing and strategic planning, overseeing all fiscal activities including forecasting, contract negotiations and interfacing with regulatory agencies. He is highly involved in exploring new technologies to improve operations and customer service. And, he continually monitors national transportation trends to ensure that SCR is at the forefront of the industry's best practices.

In 2011, Mr. Rakestraw and his wife, SCR co-founder President/CEO Pamela M. Rakestraw, received the Outstanding Business of the Year Award from the Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce. SCR also received the Bank of America Small Business Award in 1996 and was named the Taxicab Limousines and Paratransit Association (TPLA) Paratransit Operator of the Year in 2004.

Mr. Rakestraw serves on the Board of Directors for several organizations, including the TLPA, the Catholic Charities Foundation, Urban Partnership Bank and the Gateway Foundation. He is also highly involved in the TLPA Paratransit Steering Committee, helping to decide the future of the paratransit industry.

Mr. Rakestraw studied at Tennessee State University and attended the University of Illinois and Roosevelt University, where he took graduate courses. He has completed additional coursework at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, through the school’s Minority Director Development program.

WILLIAM A.WIDMER III
Director

William A. Widmer III was appointed to the Metra Board in 2008 by the suburban members of the Cook County Board.

Mr. Widmer has devoted more than 35 years to private law practice, specializing in labor law and employee benefit funds as a partner in the firm Carmell Charone & Widmer. Mr. Widmer’s clients include the Chicago Federation of Labor, where he has served as counsel since 1998. Other labor union clients include Local 399 Operating Engineers, Teamsters Locals 301 and 734 as well as a number of firefighter union locals.

Mr. Widmer earned an undergraduate degree in from Bowdoin College and a Juris Doctorate from the Temple University School of Law.