McHenry County Blog

Building whose purchase by Grafton Township could be authorized by a vote of those attending the Annual Town Meeting on April 13th at the Huntley High School.

At last Thursday night’s meeting of the Grafton Township Board, Township Administrator Pam Fender presented a real estate listing for the old R & R Metal Craft Building at 11012 N. Blakley Street in Huntley. (Near the library and village hall, for those of you not from Huntley.)

When I asked her later if anyone had encouraged her to look for potential office space, she told me it was her idea.

Last November 9th it was listed for $1.15 million.  Fender told me it could be re-modeled for township use for about a half a million dollars.

Grafton Township Hall on which a November referendum is scheduled.

So, something over $ 2 million, plus any interest on borrowed money.

And today, wrapping up the suit successfully filed to stop the $5 million (including interest) building of a new township hall on Haligus Road, the township’s attorney was very concerned that Judge Michael Caldwell include a line in the permanent injunction would allow the Township to pursue the issue of a new building at the forthcoming meeting of Township Electors on April 13.

The township trustees apparently are not willing to let the voters decide at the fall election whether they shall have new offices.

They want to allow only those who show up at the Annual Town Meeting to make the decision.

Grafton Township Trustees Gerry McMahon, Betty Zirk, Rob LaPorta and Barb Murphy at last Thursday's township meeting.

So, expect a vote to buy a building to serve as a new township hall a month from now at the Huntley High School Auditorium.  Whether it will be the Blakley Street building or another one remains to be seen.

A floor plan of the building can be found below:

Main floor layout of the empty building Township Administrator Pam Fender found.

In an article on his Woodstock Advocate entitled,

When did Trustees decide to sue Supervisor?

Philpott’s opening paragraphs are just intriguing:

In an update to this morning’s article about the Grafton Township’s Trustees’ filing a lawsuit against Township Supervisor Linda Moore, this morning I telephoned the Grafton Township Supervisor at her telephone number as published on the Township’s website.

Township Administrator Pam Fender answered the telephone number listed under the Supervisor’s name and told me that she did not know when the Trustees had decided on the lawsuit. Now, how does the Administrator not know the answer to what I would consider a fairly simple and direct question?

Grafton Township Trustees, from left to right, Gerry McMahon, Betty Zirk, Rob LaPorta and Barb Murphy, meeting in open session last Thursday night.

I stayed until the end of the meeting and discussion of the Separation of Powers suit filed by Supervisor Linda Moore by Ancel Glink partner Rob Bush was not even behind closed doors.

There certainly was no motion to sue anyone while the township trustees were in session, let alone the passage of a motion.

So, all you legal eagles reading this, let me know whether you think the decision to file the suit was a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

= = = = =
Incidentally, I called Township Administrator Pam Fender this morning asking for a copy of the suit, but have not received it as of 5 PM. She said she didn’t have one, but would contact Township Attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer.  If it ever comes, it will be interesting to see what the township is billed for sending it.

Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore took her dispute with Township Trustees Betty Zirk, Gerald McMahon, Rob LaPorta and Barbara Murphy to court Wednesday.

She’s in civil court seeking injunctive relief to regain her role as chief executive of the township. She hoped for immediate relief, but Judge Maureen McIntyre “found there was no emergency,” Moore attorney John Nelson said. A court date will be set Monday.

“The Grafton Township Board of Trustees has, without legal authority, engaged in a broad course of conduct designed to eliminate Supervisor Moore from conducting any Grafton Township business,” the suit says.

Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore and her attorney John Nelson leave the McHenry County Courthouse after filing a suit to reclaim the power that township trustees have taken from her. The sun was radiating enough heat to bring the temperature to 57 degrees.

As readers know, the township board, still smarting from its judicial loss of the new $5 million township hall on Haligus road and election of nemesis Moore as township supervisor, decided to strip Moore of all the executive functions that their attorney, Keri-Lyn Krafthefer  advised was possible.

Trustee Betty Zirk explains benefits of a new township hall approved by the trustees with adequate public notice, but defeated on a tie vote by township electors.

“I am sure my client’s (being a plaintiff in the suit and having) engineered the end of the $5 million palace they wanted to build has nothing to do with the board’s concerns…I say that with tongue firmly in cheek,” Nelson said after setting next Monday’s court date to set a court date for a hearing on the merits of Moore’s suit.

“I would encourage anyone who is interested in the case to watch the YouTube video of the last meeting.”

Moore not only seeks the return of her powers, but also, confirmation of the legitimacy of her firing of Ancil Glick partner Keri-Lyn Krafthefer and Township Administrator Pam Fender.

Nelson spoke of two court cases upon which he based his motion.

One says that the township supervisor is in charge of hiring and firing employees, as long as there are not more than five paid by the Town Fund. Excluded from the employee count are employees of the assessor and road commissioner, as well as those paid by the General Assistance Fund.

Grafton Township has three bus drivers who fit that category.

“Three are smaller than five,” Nelson said.

Another case rebuked Cicero Town officials for banishing its township collector to a closet and firing the two employees.

Moore’s new office is the township clerk’s old one, one without a window.

Trustees continually point out that the township attorney, selected by Moore, but later dismissed by Moore, “wrote the book.”

Nelson said he was a member of the Illinois Township Attorney’s Association.

“Our association is composed of real lawyers. We don’t write books about township law; we revise township laws.”

Apparently two criminal complaints have been made to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office by Moore’s antagonists.

One is said to concern manipulation of the private bank accounts of township employees.

“I would categorically deny such accusation,” Nelson said.

The other, more recent, is that financial information has disappeared from township computers.

“The township computers are under the sole custody and control of the township supervisor,” Nelson said.

“They have no right, legal authority or interest in these computers. They are a legislative body.”

“That is an allegation without substance and without meaning. The elected supervisor is the sole custodian of the financial records. It’s really not their complaint to make.

“If the records have disappeared, it’s because of the illegally hired employee (Township Administrator Pam Fender),” Nelson continued.

“It’s a felony to threaten a criminal case to obtain a civil judgment or right,” Nelson pointed out.

Nelson outlined the duties of township trustees:

• They review the bills, audit the bills
• They approve the budget which has to provide adequate space for the assessor, supervisor and town collector to do his or her job.
• They can provide for salaries.
• They can provide conditions, if over five employees.

Township trustees are limited to what the law says.

Grafton Township Board at its March 2nd meeting, which you can see on YouTube. From left to right are Trustees Gerry McMahon, Betty Zirk, Rob LaPorta and Barb Murphy. Supervisor Linda Moore is seen standing.

“These township trustees have stepped way over those bounds,” Nelson charged.

“This is a separation of powers case that involved the fundamental right of people to elect their own political leaders.

“The core issue is that the voters of Grafton Township voted my client in as Grafton Township Supervisor. Their wisdom or lack thereof is no longer at issue.”

Nelson serves as Winnebago County’s Harlem Township Attorney.   That township, north of Rockford, has a population comparable to Grafton’s.

And, who will pay Nelson’s bill?

“I represent her in her official capacity,” he said.

Read this section of the case:

“Supervisor Moore is entitled to legal counsel in her capacity as Grafton Township Supervisor as she is in legal conflict with defendants, and this litigation is necessary to settle the rights, obligations and duties of the parties.  The necessity of payment for legal counsel paid for by Grafton Township is well-settled under the law.  In Wayne Township Board of Auditors, DuPage County v. Ludwig, 154 Ill.App.3d 899, 507 N. E. 2d 199, 204, 107 Ill. Dec. 535, 540 (2nd Dist., 1987) the court held that where an actual conflict exists between a Town Board and one of the town’s officers the town officer is entitled to be represented by independent counsel.  The court went on to say that independent counsel is entitled to a reasonable fee for same.”

McHenry County lies within the 2nd Appellate Court District.

What if Moore wins the case and the trustees won’t follow the judge’s order?

“I would be seeking jail time for contempt,” Nelson said.  If it reaches that stage, it will not be the first time the four trustees have displeased a judge by not obeying a court order.  It happened in the new township hall case, too.

Keri-Lyn Krafthefe

Moore’s seeking judicial approval of her termination of the legal services of Keri-Lyn Krafthefer.

Nelson court document points out that Moore appointed her and says,

“Logic would dictate that Keri-Lyn Krafthefer serves at the pleasure of the Supervisor of Grafton Township.  However, it appears that this is an issue of first impression.”

A link to the full court document can be found here.

The Grafton Township Board listening to the pre-selected Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender for the new $35,000 (plus about $15,000 in family health benefits) post of Township Administrator. From left to right are Supervisor Linda Moore, Township Attorney Keri-Lyn Krafterfer and Trustees Barbara Murphy, Rob LaPorta, Betty Zirk and Gerry McMahon.

In the soon-to-disappear Northwest Herald comments on its story about the Grafton Township Trustees’ hiring Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender to basically do all the work that Supervisor Linda Moore is charged with performing now, a gentleman calling himself “Cadman” wrote the following:

“As I have stated before, find which of the trustees and their friends stand to gain from building the memorial and you will know who is causing all the problems.”

I ask that Cadman email me (address on the upper left hand of this page) something a bit more specific.

You can find McHenry County Blog’s story on the Thursday meeting here.

With a wish fulfillment that newly-elected Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore would go poof and disappear in the night in the Huntley Park District meeting room last night being unattainable, the other four members of the township board decided to do the next best thing.

Watercolor of $3.5 million Grafton Township Hall the majority of the township board tried to build without adequate notice to the taxapyers. Linda Moore was party to the suit that stopped expenditures before she became township supervisor, basing her campaign on opposition to the proposal.

To punish the person they blame for derailing their new $3.5 million township hall, they voted to hire a township administrator, a post unheard of in McHenry County, but apparently common in patronage-ridden Cook County Townships seeking ways to justify their existence.

The trustees’ minds were obviously made up before the meeting began.

As Trustee Gerry McMahon pointed out to Moore after LaPorta had taken the high road by vowing the township was going to “follow best practices,”

“There are going to be a lot of changes. Get used to it!”

At the annual Grafton Township meeting, Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender was standing to the left of the trustees (in the photo, a bit to the right of the 20 MPH sign) voting with them to approve a new $3.5 million ($5 milion with interest) township hall. (Click to enlarge.)

The perfunctory discussion of the need for such an employee to effectively replace the township supervisor and the presence of the person being hired—political ally and Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender—in the audience is evidence of the choreographed nature of the meeting.

In the next to the back row, Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender waited to be hired as Grafton Township Administrator, akin to a city manager, with her male supporters beside and behind her.

The cost of the action to taxpayers taken by the four Grafton Township Trustees will be in the $50,000 range once family health benefits are added to the $35,000 salary.

LaPorta pointed out that the compensation “was about half what other townships pay their administrators.”

Linda Moore’s reaction:

“It’s another waste of taxpayers’ dollars. No township of similar size or in McHenry County has seen a need to spend money for this purposed.”

Led by Rob LaPorta, he, Barb Murphy, Betty Zirk and Gerry McMahon voted as a bloc to hire the Fender, who told McHenry County Blog she is a decorator and contractor as well as village trustee.

When asked, she said she considered this a full-time job.

Asked whether she would run for township supervisor, a rumor about town, Fender replied, “I have no idea at all.”

Ancel Glick attorney Keri-LynKrafterfer offers explanation of other townships, none in McHenry County, that have hired adminstrators.

No job description was available and there was not evidence that anyone else had been considered for the position.

LaPorta turned to Ancel Glick attorney Keri-Lyn Krafterfer for help in explaining what a township administrator would do and other townships who had them.

“Counselor, explain what other townships do,”

LaPorta asked.

“They serve the equivalent function of a city manager,” Krafterfer replied. She then added that an administrator could

• order the thank you plaque for the just-resigned Township Clerk Dina Frigo,
• get bids for surety bonds for trustees whom the board majority wants to countersign all checks and issue them, if Moore refuses to do so within a specified time,
• “do whatever,
• recreation programs,
• transportation services,
• health,
• youth,
• day-to-day” management,
• “assemble the board packets,
• all the things that go into the day-to-day running of the township.”

When pressed for other townships that have administrators, Krafterfer cited

• Palatine (112,740 population found here)
• Orland (91,418)
• Elk Grove (94,969)

“There’s dozens of others. It’s very common.”

Grafton Township had 45,427 people as of 2007.

After that brief description that most people would think contains the duties of a township supervisor, LaPorta said,

Dan Ziller, Sr., and Dan Ziller, Jr., leave Grafton Township meeting after the board selects Pam Fender to take over Supervisor Linda Moore's duties. Dan Ziller, Jr., was the lead plaintiff in the suit that stopped the building of the new township hall and required a referendum on the subject in November.

“I would like to nominate somebody this evening to provide the best services to the township… Pam Fender.”

She had “significant government and leadership background, has a proven history of getting things done for the community…in a timely fashion.”

Dan Ziller, Sr., and Jr., strong supporters of Moore began expressing their displeasure.

“If you can’t keep quiet, I’m going to ask you to leave,” LaPorta said.

After a few more words, the two walked out the door.

“We need to diminish your troublesome conduct,” McMahon next said to Moore. “You’re not doing a good job for the township. It’s as simple as that.”

Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender makes presentation to the Grafton Township Board after Rob LaPorta made a motion to hire her for $35,000, plus health and other benefits, to become Township Administrator.

Fender then made a presentation including, “I would like to serve the whole of Grafton Township.”

Moore asked Fender,

“When the Village of Huntley hires someone do they hire a friend or the best qualified person?”

but received no satisfaction.

McMahon yet again aimed his ire at Moore by stating to 11-year resident Fender,

“We want you to be a good public relations person. You’re working for the board.”

Fender’s start date is Tuesday. Yet unsettled is where her office will be, but Trustee Zirk thought it ought to be near the front door in the same office as Moore.

Although no job description was available at the meeting, the attorney said,

“We’ll get a job description.”

Neither Barb Murphy nor Zirk had questions for Fender.

Gerry McMahon

Linda Moore

The hiring came after a another bill of particulars of things Moore had done wrong leading up to a second censure resolution.

Displeasure over the roll Moore played in killing the township hall was evident periodically throughout the meeting.

“We’d have our own building…”

Rob LaPorta, the leader of the four trustees whose goal is to freeze Linda Moore out of township affairs.

Gerry McMahon said at the end of the meeting before being interrupted by Rob LaPorta, who said,

“Gerry don’t go there,”

as a lease requested by the Huntley Park District was discussed before being assigned to Fender for investigation.

Earlier McMahon strayed from the script by saying,

“We could have had our own building and been in it by now,”

adding, “That’s satire,” after Moore explained that the park district had expressed displeasure with the township board’s late meetings.  (This one ended after 11.)

The meeting was calmer than the one Moore posted, first on the township web site, then on her own after outraged township trustees order them removed.

I only watched the first part of the meeting, but it must have been a doozy because when Loretta Wuich complained about the way she was treated, LaPorta offered an apology for not acting the way he does in other circumstances.

All the officials are Republican.

Grafton Township Home Page on Jan. 22, 2010. Note that the tab to click to the Supervisor's page above the Assessor's has been removed.

You gotta love the infighting among Republicans in Grafton Township.

Supervisor Linda Moore posted video of the last township meeting. My speakers are so poor I had a hard time hearing what people were saying in the first segment, but it as, shall I say, animated.

Now, someone has taken down the link from the main page of the web site to where one can see the videos.

Linda Moore's information page to which the link disappeared from the internet home page page Grafton Township

But here’s the link for those of you who would like to see what a real live, that is, lively meeting looks and sounds like.

As I do in the Matt Murphy piece below, the Algonquin Library Board member is a baseball entrepreneur in Rockford.

The just unveiled logo of the Rockford Foresters minor league baseball team.

Joe Stefani just unveiled the logo for his new team, the Rockford Foresters. You see it here.

November 12, 2009, Grafton Township Meeting that the four trustes did not attend.

As reported by McHenry County Blog November 12th, the four Grafton Township Trustees who wanted to build a new township hall, but didn’t want to ask the public for permission in a referendum, boycotted a township meeting.

Township Supervisor Linda Moore, Township Clerk Dina Frigo, Road Commissioner Jack Freund and Assessor Bill Ottley attended the meeting.

Township Trustees Barbara Murphy, Robert LaPorta, Betty Zirk and Gerry McMahon weren’t there.

Here’s what the Assistant State’s Attorney Cynthia A. Schaupp said in a January 7th letter to Moore:

This investigation revealed the following:
Mr. LaPorta did contact the Grafton Township attorney to inquire whether he could boycott the November 12, 2009, meeting since the agenda did not contain items he requested to have placed on the agenda.The attorney informed him he can choose to not attend the meeting.

Mr. LaPorta then contacted by telephone Trustee Zire and Trustee Murphy, individually, to inform them that he would not be attending the meeting.

Mr. LaPorta, never told the Trustees that they should also miss the meeting.

Trustee Murphy was not able to go to the meeting due to a work conflict and did not miss the meeting due to the any other reason.

Trustee McMahon did not recall if Trustee LaPorta even contacted him prior to the November 12, 2009 meeting.

The facts presented do not indicate any designed plan or “chain” to violate the Open Meetings Act.

Based on the above facts available to me at this time, this office does not believe there was any violation of the Open Meetings Act and thus will take no further action. However, should any additional information become available, this office may review this decision.

After receiving the above letter Supervisor Moore, who filed an Open Meetings Act violation complaint, sent the following letter to the State’s Attorney’s Office:

Cythia Schaupp
Assistant State’s Attorney
January 8. 2010

Dear Attorney Schaupp,

I have received your letter regarding the boycotting of meetings by the Grafton Township Trustees.  Thank you for contacting the trustees, however, I am concerned that you have overlooked some evidence from reporter Pete Gonigam and new evidence has occurred.

Please review the quote by Trustee LaPorta made at the time that the boycotting occurred to reporter Pete Gonigam who wrote a story the next day on the subject,

“We as a group of trustees decided to do that.”

LaPorta said.  You do not refer to this evidence in your letter even though on November 18th I wrote a letter to you asking you to consider this evidence and contact Mr. Gonigam.

The word boycott defined means

“to join together in refusing to deal with, so as to punish or coerce.”

Source is Webster’s Dictionary and online Your Dictionary.

In your letter, dated January 7th you state that Mr. LaPorta asked the attorney to inquire whether he could boycott a meeting.  Your letter states, “The attorney informed him that he can choose not to attend the meeting.”

Ancel Glick partner Keri-Lyn Krafterfer advising Grafton Township Board.

On November 6, Krafthefer advises the trustees in a letter,

“Further, there is nothing to prevent the Township Trustees from boycotting the regular meeting with your proposed agenda,“

Attorney Krafthefer’s response is also documented in a letter to the trustees dated November 17th,

“There is nothing that prevents one trustee from calling another trustee, then hanging up and calling another trustee.  Such would not constitute a meeting under the Open Meetings Act.”

In other words, she has said there is no such thing as a “chain” call that would violate the Open Meetings Act.

In my opinion, Ms. Krafthefer has given the trustees inappropriate legal counsel in these statements.

Per the Open Meetings Act, “Meeting” means any gathering, whether in person, or by video or audio conference, telephone call, electronic means, or other means of contemporaneous interactive communication of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body.

November 12, 2009, Grafton Township Meeting that the four trustes did not attend.

In other words, the definition of a meeting can be calls made one after another between more than two board members.  Mr. LaPorta may have told you that he did not tell the trustees to boycott the meeting, however he admits to doing just that when he is quoted by Pete Gonigam,

“We as a group of trustees decided to do that (boycott the meeting.)”

Since my previous contact with you, the trustees have chosen not to attend four meetings in the month of November and as a result many items of township business are not addressed at this time.  In fact, the trustees did not attend meetings dated November 12, 16, 18 and 24th.

Clearly this was not a one time unplanned coincidental event.  It is reoccurring and intentional.

On January 4th Trustee McMahon was quoted by the Daily Herald reporter Jameel Naqvi as follows,

“I don’t want to go to a meeting called by Linda Moore…don’t care about anything she has on the agenda.”

McMahon said.

Is not this further evidence that the trustees plan to continue to violate the Open Meetings Act by joining together to refuse to deal with, so as to punish or coerce with the township attorney’s apparent permission as documented in your letter of January 7th?

In light of this additional information, you have offered to review this decision.

I am asking that you do reconsider the Open Meetings Violation Compliant that was made by myself and an unnamed McHenry County resident.

After receiving your letter I tried to contact you by telephone, but you were unavailable at that time.  For clarification purposes, I have sent you various documents at various times, but I was under the impression that the investigation was started at the request of another McHenry County resident.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Very Truly Yours,

Grafton Township Supervisor
Linda Moore

Attachments include:
Jan. 7 letter from Office of State Attorney
Nov. 17 letter, page 2 Ancel-Glick
Nov. 18 letter from Linda Moore
Jan. 4 Daily Herald article
Nov. 13 Pete Gonigam article
Nov. 6 Ancel Glick letter

When I asked the First Electric Newspaper’s Pete Gonigam if he had been interviewed by the State’s Attornedy’s Office, he said that he had not.

Longest serving Grafton Township Trustee Betty Zirk tries to convince electors at the April Annual Town Meeting to approve a new township hall. The motion lost on a 70-70 tie vote. Court action confirmed the over $5 million property tax liability was invalid.

Yesterday and the day before, McHenry County Blog chronicled what the Grafton Township trustees said about the John Rossi Township Board new town hall debacle.

You remember, illegally committing taxpayers to repay over $5 million in principal and interest for a new township hall on land purchased from the Village of Lake in the Hills on Haligus Road.

Part of the cost was to be paid for by selling the current township hall to the Grafton Township Road District, allowing area taxpayers to pay for the same building twice, a seeming Huntley tradition. (The Huntley Park District bought the old high school from District 158, giving park district taxpayers the privilege of paying for that building twice.)

Grafton Township Clerk Dina Frigo makes a point as Road District attorney Pat Coen patiently awaits his turn.

It was finally time for Pat Coen, Road Commissioner Jack Freund’s attorney, to speak.

Another picture of Road District attorney Pat Coen patiently waiting.

He had sat patiently through the kangaroo court we-won’t-show-you-the-censure-motion-until-after-we-vote condemnation of Supervisor Linda Moore.

The agenda subject?

“Discussion and potential action to approve payment of $700,000 road ordinance plus interest to date of loan.”

Pat Coen explains what a meeting of the electors is needed to reverse the previous township board's sale of the township hall to the Grafton Township Road District. Road Commissioner Jack Freund sits to his left.

Coen concluded that approval of the electorate was needed to “unwind” (a word virtually everyone uses to describe undoing the court-determined improper acts committed by the prior township board to build a new township hall) the selling of the current township hall to the Road District part of Grafton Township government.

“I can find nothing in the statutes that says unwinding is any different than conveying property,” the lawyer said.

He suggested calling a special meeting of the electors.

He was asked if he had made a mistake.

“I’m not admitting to any mistake,” Coen replied.

Coen pointed out that the entire loan–$700,000–would have to be repaid to Harris Bank. That included the cost of a salt shed.

Zirk wondered if the Town Fund would just “pay what the Town Fund owes.”

“I haven’t gone that far,” Coen replied

“66,000 had to go for the commission,” Zirk added, but didn’t mention who got the commission.

That commission to MJ Munaretto and Company was revealed exclusively in McHenry County Blog on July 7, 2009. Munaretto is a Republican County Board member who chairs the Finance Committee.  Neither the Daily nor the Northwest Herald have revealed this.

McMahon favored delaying until next spring’s annual meeting:

“Let it go. Let the electoral handle it (at the annual meeting).”

“Barbara Murphy, who has repeatedly expressed distaste at the length of time it is taking to resolve the problem countered,

“It’s costing a ton on this.

“We want to get done with this, excuse my word, crap.”

Shortly thereafter, LaPorta made this admission:

“We did the best we did with the information we had at the time.

“You think we did this illegally for crying out loud?”

Focused on completing the reversal of the actions taken to build a new township hall, Murphy pointed out,

“This is the second half of it.”

The first half was repaying the Harris Bank the other $3.5 million loan.

McMahon, the only trustee not in office when the decision was made added,

“Maybe we should sell the township building to the Road Commissioner. That’s what you wanted.

“I don’t see giving up the dream.”

McMahon supported a continuation of efforts to build a new township hall.

At this point, Supervisor Moore asked,

“Would you like to hear a suggestion?”

“No, not from you,” McMahon retorted.

“We need to negotiate with Jack,” Moore continued.

LaPorta suggested having a representative from the trustees and the supervisor meet with Road Commissioner Freund.

And, that’s what the Grafton Township Board decided to do.

Yesterday, McHenry County Blog started outlining what was mentioned about the court-determined illegal actions of the prior board–three of whose members were re-elected–in notes of the 7:30 PM to 12:15 AM Grafton Township board meeting last Thursday night.

The topic kept coming up in the discussion of the motion to add Township Supervisor Linda Moore’s name to that of newly-elected Trustee Gerry McMahon on the list of board members censured who have been censured.

Trustee Rob LaPorta, clearly the leader of the board majority, was among those to comment on the township hall lawsuit during the debate to move the censure resolution from the bottom to the top of the agenda:

“We were forced to hire an attorney because our names were on the lawsuit.”

McMahon returned to the court action brought by Grafton Township citizens, directing his comments to Moore:

“You started all of this by encouraging all this litigation against the township.

“You hurt the township. You should resign. You do not have a clue how to run a township.”

“We have to take responsibility for the decisions we make,” Moore replied.

“I admit I don’t think I made a good decision.

“Get over it.

“I don’t take kindly to your accusations,”

Barbara Murphy then said.

The reply from Moore,

“We can’t made decisions based on our legal (advice) alone. Just because a lawyer makes a recommendation doesn’t (mean it’s right).

“You believe what Mr. Kelly told you to do. Now, it turns out not to be the right thing to do.”

I have over four pages of notes on LaPorta’s reading of the condemnation resolution, but he was reading so fast, they are incomplete. After looking over the text sent to me by Trustee Rob LaPorta, I don’t see anything concerning the new township hall except Moore’s termination of Kelly as township attorney and her refusal to present his bill for payment.

But, my guess is those items stimulated the censure movement.

When it got to public comment time after the censure and paying of bills Tammy Lueth, a plaintiff in the suit to invalidate the board’s decision to build a new township hall, came to the podium with a stack of agendas and minutes.

“I’ve been through all the agendas for the last four years.”

She told of the decision at the annual meeting to approve the new township hall.

“You weren’t right.

“You took it upon yourself to appeal (Judge Michael Caldwell’s) decision. The Appellate Court ruled you guys didn’t do what you should have done.

“You spent more time bickering about $400 in chamber of commerce fees (than you did when it) took you six minutes to approve land acquisition.

“That was all brought about by the former supervisor (John Rossi) and some trustees.”

She added that she had to spend $12 in a Freedom of Information Act request to get minutes which ought to be on the web site.

Cutting Lueth’s comments short was McMahon, the only current trustee who did not vote for the new township hall and land acquisition:

“You’re into your three minutes.”

Trustee Betty Zirk, one of the three remaining trustees who supported the new township hall, pointed out the rules on the specificity of agendas changed in 2007.

“Now we have to be very specific,” she said.

McMahon returned to the undercurrent of the meeting:

“On some points you are right. What (attorney Jim) Kelly said to us was that he thought it was winnable.

“I’ve learned my lesson…

“I think you opened a can of worms and you hurt the township.”

McMahon then offer his opinion on the chances of passing the court-ordered referendum during next November’s general election:

“We can’t win a referendum. We will never get the PR out.”

The official part of the agenda when the discredited deal was next on the agenda.

Read about it tomorrow.