By Nick Gale, WLS-AM News
(CHICAGO) Metra’s CEO says he plan to retire at the end of the year.
Don Orseno says he will be stepping down by the end of the year to spend more time with his family. The announcement comes after he received a 10-percent pay hike in December to $317,500 a year. But according to RTA policy, that 10-percent bump would not affect his retirement income as it is based on 115-percent of the second and third highest income years.
The 62-year-old’s announcement came on the same day that Metra experienced major delays on trains arriving and departing from Union Station during the morning rush. Metra says Amtrak’s computer systems that control signals just outside of Union Station were to blame.
Orseno took over as CEO in 2013 after Alex Clifford was forced out after blowing the whistle on demands for patronage hiring at the commuter rail service. Clifford received a buyout for the remaining eight months of his contact valued at $871,000.
Under Orseno, Metra has been trying to modernize. With federal and state funds lacking, a series of fare hikes were implemented, raising the ire of commuters. Metra has also been criticized for spending $509,000 on a portable shooting range.
Orseno started as a ticket collector on the Rock Island line and has been in the railroad business for over 40 years.
@ 2017 WLS-AM News
