Good morning, Chicago.

On a Wednesday morning in May, Metra staff and board members gathered at the LaSalle Street Station outside the Chicago Stock Exchange building.

Ordinarily, they would have met at the commuter rail service’s headquarters blocks away for their regularly scheduled monthly meeting. But this morning, they were boarding a train for a trip along the Rock Island line to Will County, where they would view construction projects planned and underway before holding a board meeting in Joliet.

Board members and Metra executives made the journey in an observation car lent by BNSF Railway. Attendees had coffee and breakfast available during the train ride, and lunch after the board meeting. Shuttle vans were provided to take the board members from the Joliet train station to the meeting at the Will County Office Building.

All told, records show the outing cost Metra at least $10,836.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sarah Freishtat.

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Allegations of hazing and bullying have thrown Northwestern University’s athletic department into turmoil, spurring recent leadership shake-ups and pledges for reform.

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