Metra’s Jack Schaffer Calls Proposed Personnel Policy Way to Increase “Patronage”
Jack Schaffer
Back when Jack Schaffer was State Senator and I was State Rep., we once had a conversation about patronage.
Both of us agreed that we were pleased to let McHenry County Republican County Chairman Al Jourdan handle that aspect of politics.
Now, Schaffer, serving on the Metra Board, has called out newly-installed Metra Board Chairman Brad O’Halloran on his proposal to give Board members the power to approve new hires earning more than $75,000 a year. That’s what the Chicago Tribune says.
“I know what patronage is. I want no part of it.”
O’Halloran took offense.
The Chicago Tribune headline tells the story.
So did other Board members, including Kane County’s Mike McCoy.
“Ridiculous and offensive.”
Schaffer was not alone in his believe, however. Evanston’s William Widmer “feared the board ‘could become the go-to people about getting hired,’” according to the Tribune.
