Gerry Walsh Successful in Calling Nunda Neighbors on the State Board of Elections Carpet…Again

What follows is a report from Nunda Township Tax Fighter Gerry Walsh. A day after his efforts to put an advisory referendum on the fall ballot asking whether voters wanted to repeal the Nunda Township Open Space Plan fell short at the Annual Town Meeting, he was in Chicago taking a complaint against Nunda Neighbors for untimely filing of it campaign disclosure form. Notes on the meeting follow:

I don’t think the hearing lasted more than five minutes.

Unlike the hearing last fall, Lori McConville was present.

If she were not running for the McHenry County Board in November, I suspect this wouldn’t be newsworthy to McHenry County residents – and she would have blown off the meeting again.

The ISBE attorney started by giving a summary from the Hearing Officer’s report of March 11.  The report reads in part:

“The respondent [McConville] admitted they filed the December 2009 Semi-Annual report late and an amendment was required to clear up deficiencies in the original report.  Therefore, I recommend that the complaint be found to have been filed upon justifiable grounds….Furthermore, I recommend that no further action be taken in this matter, except for the assessment of a penalty by the Board for the delinquent filing of the December 2009 Semi-Annual Report.”

At the hearing, Gerry Walsh said that he agreed with the Hearing Officer’s report.

He also pointed out that this was the second time in six months that a Walsh vs. Nunda Neighbors complaint was filed.  Both times, the Hearing Officer reported the complaint was filed on justifiable grounds.

Lori McConville, the Treasurer and Chair for Nunda Neighbors, then stated that she also agreed with the report.

The Board voted unanimously to accept the report, which suggests that another fine will be assessed to Nunda Neighbors.

Lori McConville indicated that she may appeal the fine.  She gave no indication that she would contest the decision, which she had admitted to.

The timing of this hearing before the State Board of Elections is amusing because it occurred the day after the Annual Nunda Township meeting.

As McHenry County Blog previously reported, after Lori McConville’s speech at that meeting supporting the Nunda Open Space Plan and its support by Nunda Neighbors for Open Space, Gerry Walsh responded that Nunda Neighbors was not a credible organization, since they violated state campaign law in the fall without contesting it, and are possibly going to be found in violation again the next day [which they were].

Gerry Walsh has quipped,  “Lori McConville has shown that she is financially inept, dismissive of state campaign laws, as evidenced by the ISBE rulings, and hasn’t learned from her mistake of six months ago.  She is not a stellar candidate for office, much less for the county board.”


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