Illinois Leaks Finds No Approval for Algonquin Township Record Destruction Since 1978

From Illinois Leaks, published with permission:

Algonquin Township – No approval from the State to destroy records……..EVER!

McHenry Co. (ECWd) –

According to the Illinois Local Records Commission, Algonquin Township has provided an application for authority to dispose of local records one time in its history and that was in 1978.

Algonquin Township Clerk and Freedom of Information Officer Karen Lukasik.

The linked request is the record retention disposition, however, none of those records can be destroyed without a certificate for each one based on additional requests, which has never happened.

That being the case, we can only wonder why Freedom of Information Act requests are being ignored, denied, and improperly responded to.

Since they NEVER been given permission to destroy records, all records should be there!

To date, the Clerk has failed to provide key records that should be in her possession as the custodian of all records for the township.

In some cases, if such records are in fact not in their possession, it may point to a serious problem for past elected officials as some of those documents are connected to questionable acts by past officials.

Other records we know are in existence, yet they are not providing them, which will be problematic when we file our FOIA lawsuit against them.

  • Copy of Open Meetings Act Training Certificates for the elected officials – Ignoring the request
  • Payments to employees as a bonus – Claims no records exist
  • Copy of Bids received for the two trucks that were sold – Yet to provide any bids received from bidders. 
  • Copy of bids received for the Stree Sweeper that was purchased –Yet to provide any bids received from bidders. 
  • Copy of overtime records for Anna Miller – Attorney claimed they don’t exist
  • Copy of Bob Miller’s Annual reports – Improper denial, still don’t have the records 
  • Copy of the Audit referenced in the sick day payout document used by Bob Miller before leaving office. –Improper denial, still don’t have the records 
  • Copy of all payments to Bob Miller between February 1, 1993, and July 31st, 1993. – Claimed I need to provide the type of payment in order for them to fulfill.  Still, no records provided. 
  • Copy of the Records the Clerk removed from the Township offices –Claimed there are no records

For those not familiar with the laws that pertain to public records, FOIA is one with little to no teeth.

However, the local records act is not so friendly to those who knowingly alters, destroys, defaces, removes, or conceals any public record with intent to defraud.

50 ILCS 205/4 – Any person who knowingly, without lawful authority and with the intent to defraud any party, public officer, or entity, alters, destroys, defaces, removes, or conceals any public record commits a Class 4 felony. 

I would urge compliance with the law.

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Comments

Illinois Leaks Finds No Approval for Algonquin Township Record Destruction Since 1978 — 22 Comments

  1. Public records should not be destroyed period.

    Scan them and save them.

    Disk and cloud storage is inexpensive.

  2. C’mon Mark, you know the evil doers must destroy all evidence
    of their misdeeds or they just might end up in prison, or club fed perhaps.

    Hillary’s secret server being a case in point.

  3. to destroy records that may lead to criminal acts makes you a participant to the crime.

    Lamb to the slaughter , it is so obvious . miller must love you NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. Long time ago 1978.

    Township must have a large records room to store all the paper files.

    Like Mark said copy them on the computer and backup the files on some other disk storeage also.

    Make a few copies and give them to each township elected official for safe keeping.

    Obviously take the 5th Chuck and other previous clerks were shaming and not keeping up with the regular house work.

  5. Stop paying the lawuers and hire a outside company to scan so all can feel better about the process.

    Make it a out of state company, even if it costs more.

    Half a million projected lawyer spending, come on it could of been handled for way less.

  6. Kind of like the hundred of thousands of dollars we lost on that old street sweeper Nob!

    I mean it only had 15,000 miles.

    Let’s sell it for a 200k loss and blow another 280k on a new one.

    So there’s half a million wasted.

    But your ok with that?

  7. Diverting off issue again?

    No I’m not happy with past events I can’t change.

    I can try and make lawyers as unhappy though.

  8. This is all deflection and a smoke screen.

    All of us know who is destroying records to make himself look good.

  9. No nob let’s add up all of Bob’s parting FUs

    Gift cards $5,000

    Clothing $90,000

    150 contract $5,000,000

    Sweeper sale $130,000

    Sweeper purchase $290,000

    To name a few so outweigh the projected legal fees.

    Hold on to your socks more is sure to come!

  10. How about the fact Lutzow was the clerk all those years why are you not asking him why no local records act evidence why is Lutzow exempt from doing his job for all those years and now he is supervisor doing the same bang up job he did as clerk.

    Those records where Lutzow’s responsibility and if your going to throw stones you should not live in glass houses.

  11. Onlythefacts:

    Lutzow didn’t destroy records.

    He kept them and when you wanted them you simply went in and got them.

    Lukasik still doesn’t understand that she can’t hide the records.

    Her day is coming.

  12. Lukasik: “life is tough. it’s tougher when you’re stupid”

  13. Frank, take the 5th Chuck and partronage Ryan P. were witnessed taking multiple bags of stuff and dumping them into the township’s container on a Saturday.

    No one knows for sure what was in those bags, so to say he didn’t destroy any records in nonsense.

    The fact the hard drive went missing from the township’s security system amd then showed up will tell allot once the review of the video is finally released.

    Ues there is more to come and I’d bet neither side will ne happy with this all once completed.

  14. Nob, you are such an idiot. You have no clue what you are talking about and your desperation is showing. Its a bit sad and hilarious at the same time.

  15. Iknow? Idiots like nob are the tools for the proliferation of the corruption that we are fighting. He is not smart enough to even understand what a fool he looks like. They love that kind of useful idiot. This war on cleaning out the swamp is fraught with morons that don’t even see the swamp!

  16. Lutzow is an accomplice!

    But he may cry for immunity to save his own lesion-riddled hide to nail the coffin of the Miller crime Family.

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