Office of Inspector General

Message from the Inspector General

/content/metra/en/home/about_metra/leadership/office_of_inspectorgeneral/jcr:content/mainPar/textimage/image/file

Recent legislation designated the Office of Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor (the “OEIG”) to serve as Executive Inspector General for Metra and the other regional transit boards (RTA, CTA, and Pace).      

Effective July 1, 2011, our office will accept all complaints of misconduct relating to Metra and, when appropriate, we will open and conduct investigations.  In addition, we will conduct all pending investigations, including those initiated by Metra’s present inspector general, Hillard Heintze, LLC. 

For those unfamiliar with our office, we are an independent, nonpartisan state agency established in 2003. We have conducted hundreds of investigations in a fair and impartial manner and our efforts – as illustrated by the Executive Ethics Commission’s decision in Meza v. Erwin, 11 EEC-005 – have exposed unethical conduct. In the Erwin matter, the misconduct related to prohibited political activities Ms. Erwin engaged in while serving as head of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. 

Our investigations have also uncovered various forms of misconduct, including benefit fraud, procurement and hiring improprieties, improper use of state resources and time abuse.  In addition, our responsibilities include monitoring state employment practices, overseeing employee ethics training, and issuing revolving door employment determinations.  

Our experienced and professional attorneys, investigators, and paralegals are fully committed to honest government and the highest standards of public service. We believe we are well equipped to serve Illinois citizens as Executive Inspector General for Metra and the other regional transit boards.

We invite you to visit our website at www.inspectorgeneral.illinois.gov and encourage you to report misconduct, fraud, or abuse, related to Metra or any other transit board click here. Complaints may be filed in a variety of ways, such as via our toll-free hotline (866-814-1113), TDD (888-261-2734), mail, in person at either of the OEIG’s two offices, or via our website.

If you have any questions or concerns about how the OEIG will function as Executive Inspector General for Metra, please contact us at 32 W. Randolph St., Ste. 1900, Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 814-5600 or at 607 E. Adams St., 14th Floor, Springfield, IL 62701, (217) 558-5600

We thank Metra for publishing this message and look forward to serving the state in this new role.

Ricardo Meza
Executive Inspector General

LARRY A. HUGGINS
Vice Chairman

Larry A. Huggins was elected vice chairman of Metra in May 2009. Mr. Huggins was appointed to the Metra Board in 1997 by the city of Chicago and served as the board treasurer from August 2006 to May 2009.

Mr Huggins is president and chief executive officer of Riteway Construction Services Incorporated. Riteway and Mr. Huggins have received a variety of top industry awards for advocacy for economic opportunities for minorities. He is a founding member of Black Contractors United (1979), serving as the organization’s vice president in 1987, and was named contractor of the year by the group in 1986 and 1997.

In 1981, he received the annual Bronze Hard Hat Award from the Chicago Economic Development Corporation in recognition of the firm’s achievements, performance and growth as a minority-owned construction firm.