Politics & Government

DuPage County Metra Board Member Paul Darley Resigns

Paul C. Darley, the DuPage County representative on the Metra Board of Trustees resigned his post effective July 30.

Article by Mary Ann Lopez.

DuPage County Metra Board Member Paul Darley has resigned from the Metra Board of Trustees effective July 30.

DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin accepted Darley’s resignation on Tuesday night.

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In his resignation letter Darley said it was a hard decision to make because he feels like he is abandoning the board a great time of need, but he feels he can better use his time and talents other places.

Referencing the severance package and settlement for former Metra CEO Alex Clifford, which has been a point of contention and controversy, Darley said in his letter that the board felt it was doing what was in the interest of riders, Metra employees and taxpayers. He said that the board chose to accept the settlement at the urging of the mediator who said after 12 hours of mediation both parties should settle. In addition, the board acted on the advice of its legal counsel.

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“I firmly believe the taxpayers of Illinois have a right to know everything that took place at Metra; and I fully support the completion of a comprehensive investigation.”

Cronin accepted the resignation with regret stating:

“I regretfully accept the resignation of Paul Darley from the Metra Board of Directors. Paul served as a representative of DuPage County for all the right reasons. First and foremost he wanted to give back to his community; evident by the fact that he donated his Metra salary to charity and he did not accept the benefits and turned down the pension that was offered to him.”

In addition, Cronin said of the settlement, “I believe Paul carefully weighed the options and voted in favor of the agreement because it was the most fiscally prudent decision.”

Find the resignation letter and Cronin’s response in our photo gallery.

Read more about the Metra controversy on Patch:


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