McHenry County Blog

Pam Fender makes her presentation to the Grafton Township Board of Trustees with her male supporters sitting behind her.

In contrast to the

“let’s give Pam Fender a $35,000 job without asking if anyone else might want it or be more qualified”

approach last Thursday night (lots of comments; no deadline as in the Northwest Herald) by the Grafton Township Board, public notice will be given through newspapers that the board is seeking applicants to replace just resigned Township Clerk Dina Frigo.

Those interested in the position, which provides the same full family health benefits worth about $15,000 per year that Fender, as “Township Administrator,” will receive on top of her $35,000 salary, should send a letter and resume to the

Deputy Grafton Township Clerk
10109 Vine Street
Huntley, IL 60142

It should be noted that Fender did not hand the trustees a resume.

There’s a March 1st deadline.

If you are interested, do it soonest.

The township clerk is a partisan position. Only those who are Republicans are eligible for appointment because Frigo won election running as a Republican.

The duties are light and the pay is good.

Take minutes, post notices, file forms. That’s about it and you’ll have a highly paid lawyer to help you.

The benefits are obviously outstanding…even outrageous.

Of course, the board could have already selected someone and be just playing charades with the public on this appointment.

On one web site, someone indicated that Fender herself wanted the position.

Appointing her could solve the problem of what office to give Fender.

Trustee Betty Zirk mentioned that Fender could be in the same office as Township Supervisor Linda Moore, apparently forgetting that Moore needs a private office to interview people seeking General Assistance.

If Fender were appointed township clerk as well as township administrator, the board could either up her gross pay to $45,000 or, considering she has already said she will do the job for $35,000, cut her pay for township administrator to $25,000. Giving her both jobs would also save $15,000 or so in health benefits, assuming that the person appointed clerk would want his or her family covered.

Residents of Grafton Township are eligible for appointment to the $10,000 a year part-time job as township clerk. With the appiontment comes full family health insurance and an internet connection at home, if benefits accorded to the current clerk are extended to her replacement.

The agenda to tonight’s Grafton Township Board meeting has been posted.

It will be held at the Huntley Park District Building starting at 7:30 PM.

The agenda, an amalgam of what each of the board members and the supervisor want considered have a couple of interesting items.

First, it appears the township board is prepared to appoint a successor to recently-resigned Township Clerk Dina Frigo.

The board is apparently prepared to accept Frigo’s resignation because agenda items are in place to buy a “plaque or appropriate gift,” pass a proclamation honoring her and discuss and take action on replacing her.

To the best of my knowledge, there has been no attempt to solicit applications from the general public for the pending vacancy.

The job pays $10,000 and full family health benefits, so there probably would be no dearth of people willing to apply, considering the state of the economy.

Next on the agenda is “discussion and potential action on hiring Township Administrator or similar employee.”

That should be interesting.

I note that there is no mention of Freedom of Information requests and their status.

Grafton Township Map

That’s what the compensation for the Grafton Township Clerk is.

Dina Frigo recently announced her resignation as of February 4th.

Someone has to replace her.

Could it be you or one of your friends who has just lost a full-time or part-time job?

Of course, one must be a resident of Grafton Township.

And, if you want to keep the job more than the three years remaining in the elected official’s term, you would need to run for the office and get elected.

Take a look at the map. Grafton Township runs from a north-south basically running through the center of Crystal Lake Meridian Street in Lakewood)
south to the McHenry-Kane County line.

Streets around the Grafton Township offices.

Although it is a public position, no one has laid out any application process.

Maybe the township board, which makes the appointment, has already decided on a replacement.

The next meeting of the township board is February 11th—at the Park District Building—if recent practice is followed.

Since there are no application procedures, if you are interested in the not-too-much-work, decent part-time salary and marvelous health benefits for the entire family, why not send a letter asking to be considered (containing your qualifications, of course) to

Grafton Township
10109 Vine Street
Huntley, IL 60142

Grafton Township Clerk Dina Frigo makes a point at a township board meeting.

Confirmed by Grafton Township Trustee Rob LaPorta, Grafton Township Clerk Dina Frigo has resigned.

“Resignation of clerk confirmed. She is excited about a new full time job and will be putting full focus on that and her family.

“We thank her for her time with us and wish her much success.”

I assume Township Supervisor Linda Moore will nominate Frigo’s replacement.

Moore and Frigo have been at odds.

But any nomination would have to be confirmed by the township board on which LaPorta seems to be the leader.

It will be interesting to see if the two sides can agree upon some more or less neutral or non-involved person for the job.

Maybe selecting a professional secretary who cares not one wit for politics might be the answer.

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.

It appears that the four-member Grafton Township Board majority got its act together Wednesday night with the help of newly hired attorney Ancel Glick partner Keri-Lyn Krafthefer.

Left on the losing end of all contested votes was Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore.  So, while she had company, she was still lonely.

No boycotts like Monday and the Thursday before.

A still interrupting, but markedly calmer than before Trustee Gerry McMahon put it best,

“I believe the essence of the problem is majority rules and some people don’t understand majority rule.”

The obvious leader of the four trustees was Robert LaPorta.  Most of the agenda items proposed by LaPorta and Betty Zirk can be seen in this story.  You can see that Laporta was enjoying himself.

When I left, the board was going into secret session to discuss what apparently they dare not discuss in public:

“Discussion and potential action on prior sale of real estate for road district.”

Prior to going into what elected officials prefer to call “Executive Session,” Moore pointed out there was no mention of the sale she could find in the township minutes.

She had elaborated on the perceived legal problem at more length a previous meeting.

The township attorney at the time, Jim Kelly, and Krafthefer were both included in the closed session.

When Moore questioned Kelly’s inclusion, Trustee Robert LaPorta said,

“We need him as a subject matter expert.”

Earlier in the meeting the four trustees voted to pay Kelley $6,351 owed him.

Before the vote Moore pointed out that $48,941 had been spent on legal fees since the change of administration:

• $37,334 – Jim Kelly
• $10,457 – Joe Gottemoller
• $1,115 – Ancel Glick

There was also a bill pending to the latter for “over $5,000,” she said.

Moore observed that only $45,000 had been budgeted for legal fees for the entire year and that state law said that only10% of that total– $4,500–could be moved from other line items to legal fees.

“The only was we can pay any attorney fees if at another meeting we (revise) the budget,” she continued.

The majority four approved payment. In her negative vote, Moore reiterated,

“We do not have the funds available.”

All of the above took place in the meeting called by two of the trustees. The meeting called by Supervisor Moore was ruled illegal by the township attorney because its notice had not been posted by Township Clerk Dina Frigo.

Moore read the opinion and, then, reported that the McHenry County State’s Attorney was investigating where an illegal meeting had been held prior to the Thursday boycott of the township meeting.

Frustrated members of the audience gave their views before a third trustee entered the room. Then, Krafthefer silenced them, saying that no business could be conducted.

One woman echoed Trustee Barbara Murphy’s comments from a month ago about the need to “unwind” the loan which the township’s Road Fund took out to pay the Town Fund for the township hall.

That was some irony in such a discussion being held at the old Huntley High School, which the Huntley Park District bought from School District 158.

Both the town hall and the old high school will be paid for twice by local taxpayers, unless the over $600,000 township loan is “unwound.”

One woman in the audience said that would save taxpayers $50,000 a month.

Of course, that does nothing to keep Huntley Park District taxpayers from paying for the high school twice.

The all-Republican township board, by the way, show no sign of recognizing the opportunity their open disagreements are providing local Democrats in 2013.  Indeed, McMahon announced his intention to increase the Clerk’s salary because of the additional duties she was being assigned by the board majority.

Four township officials, including all the full-timers, attended the Grafton Township meeting at Faith Community Church on Algonquin Road, but the four part-timers boycotted it.

Of the members of the township board, only Supervisor Linda Moore attended.

Barbara Murphy, Robert LaPort, Betty Zirk and Gerry McMahon were absent.

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

Without a quorum of three out of five members of the township board, Moore adjourned the meeting.

To read what the township trustees did not want to discuss, click here.

The following has been received from the office of Jim Bishop, attorney for Dan Ziller, Jr., et al, in their successful case against the Grafton Township Board’s attempt to build a new township hall without voter approval:

The Illinois Appellate Court officially ended the legal battle of the stalled Grafton Township Town Hall project. No negotiations with respect to settlement are either appropriate or necessary.

The Appellate Court ended all speculation with its Decision of September 18, 2009, ruling in favor of the Grafton Township residents that filed suit against Grafton Township Officials, the Appellate Court ruled that there must be a the then Township Supervisor, John Rossi and the other Trustees.

The Appellate Court has ruled that the issue must be placed on the ballot for the vote of the residents of Grafton Township at the November 2010 General Election. The referendum will determine whether the project to construct a new township hall, estimated to cost in excess of $5 million, will proceed.

For more than seven months, the residents of Grafton Township have pleaded with, and finally sued, the Grafton Township Board of Trustees to delay the construction until a referendum could be placed on the ballot concerning this important matter.

Over a period of many months, the Grafton Board of Trustees refused to halt the project necessitating the litigation.

The Appellate Court sided with the residents on all issues in the Court’s 12 page published Opinion.

Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore, who has been steadfastly opposed to the Town Hall construction project, has been continuously thwarted by the actions of the majority of the Trustees, which led to the recent resignation of Township Attorney, Joseph Gottemoller.

The continued refusal of the majority of the Grafton Township Trustees may well lead to additional litigation against the Township in order that the residents may see certain financial and other documents relating to various expenditures over the past 4 years.

James Bishop, attorney for the Plaintiffs in the “town hall” litigation has recently filed a Freedom of Information request with the Township Clerk, Dina Frigo, and has indicated that should the Trustees continue to refuse to provide such financial documentation, another lawsuit will be forthcoming.

Among financial documentation sought by Bishop are annual

• Township audits for the years 2006-2009, 
• monthly bank statements, check registers, 
• contracts relating to the sale of the existing township property, 
• contracts and other documentation. 

By law, the township is required to respond to Bishop’s FOI request early next week.

= = = = =
Seen at the Grafton Township meeting when attorney Joe Gottemoller rendered his resignation are, from left to right, Township Clerk Dina Frigo, Township Trustees Rob LaPorta, Betty Zirk and Gerry McMahon. Trustee Barbara Murphy has her back to the camera. Township Supervisor Linda Moore was medically indisposed. If you wish, you can read Gottemoller’s parting advice to the board.

A fight has been between Republicans who want to borrow about $5 million to build and finance a new Grafton Township Hall on Haligus Road in Lake in the Hills and those who don’t.

On the one side was insurgent Grafton Township Supervisor candidate Linda Moore versus incumbent Township Supervisor John Rossi.

Moore won the Republican primary by 30 votes, using the argument that taxpayers should be allowed to vote on whether to put themselves in debt for a new township building.

In July, after pretty much all the fireworks were over, the Northwest Herald editorialized against a new town hall. (Lots of links to what happened during the fight–the township meeting with its tie vote, the court case, etc.–in the link in the preceding sentence.)

February 26th citizens including Dan Ziller, Jr., filed a petition with Grafton Township Clerk Dina Frigo requesting a referendum on the township hall issue.

The question was

“Shall Grafton Township borrow in excess of Three Millions ($3,000,000.00) dollars to build a township hall and issue bonds for the building?”

The cost is probably $3.5 million to construct the building, plus another $1.5 million or so for financing, but you and voters will get the idea.

Finally, Frigo has filed the petitions with McHenry County Clerk Kathie Schultz.

The referendum will be on the ballot November 2, 2010.

Assuming that township building proponents (all the township board, except Moore) are willing to wait for the results of the citizen vote and abide by those results, healing can begin within the Republican Party and citizenry in Grafton Township.

Those who passed the petition can be seen above. From left to right, they are Frank Kearns, Dan Ziller, Jr., Tom Halat, Tammy Lueth and Rick Lueth

= = = = =
The top photo is of Grafton Township Supervisor candidate Linda Moore at the Huntley Home and Business Expo.

The bottom photo shows the Grafton Township Trustees voting at the annual township meeting to approve the construction of a new township hall.

McHenry County Blog has previously written about newly sworn-in Grafton Township Trustee Gerald McMahon’s argument that borrowing over $5 million to build a new town hall is really not worth talking about.

He argued that the size of the township hall’s cost in comparison with the rest of people’s property tax bills was like comparing a meerkat to an elephant.

I have discussed how bad this analogy is from both my son’s—the meerkat lover’s—viewpoint and suggesting taxpayers should be hunting the Republican Party’s symbol. After all, every member of the Grafton Township Board is a Republican.

Yesterday, I explained how seeking to force Grafton Township taxpayers to pay an additional $5 million was the direct result of

That is not what I want to see in elected officials who profess to be Republicans.

Speaking of which, I missed writing a story on the 325th day since Mayor Aaron Shepley’s 75% city sales tax hike took effect. That was three days ago. Shepley, you may remember, is a Republican precinct committeeman in his neighborhood and was appointed vice chairman of “Community Outreach” by McHenry County Republican Party Chairman Mike Tryon. (No, I won’t make a comment about how he and the all-Republican Crystal Lake City Council–except Jeff Thorsen–are reaching into Crystal Lake shoppers’ pockets every day.)

I continue to think that is such a strange message to send.

But back to the meerkats and elephants.

I suggested yesterday that McMahon’s argument is one that could and should be made in a referendum campaign.

But McMahon and the other township trustees obviously don’t trust the voters.

Otherwise they would instruct the Township Clerk Dina Frigo to file the citizen petition requesting one with the McHenry County Clerk.

And, that leads to the skunk.

The skunk stinking up the Grafton Township political arena is the refusal of the township board majority’s to seek voter approval before bull elephanting ahead.

A skunk is about the same size as a meerkat.

And, if you had a skunk in your home, you’d want to get rid of it.

The evidence of voter dissatisfaction of the way the township officials are trying to shove this township office building through without a referendum is contained in the defeat of Township Supervisor John Rossi by Linda Moore.

While Moore only won the Republican primary election by 30 votes, her efforts did elect McMahon, whether he wants to admit it or not.

Having 50% of one’s electorate dissatisfied with what one is doing—or at least the way one is doing it—should be enough to convince any rational set of public officials to change direction.

At least as far as giving their voters a say at the ballot box.

To ignore this skunk could have repercussions that township officials, whether in Grafton Township or nearby, might live to regret.

It is possible to abolish township government through a citizen-initiated referendum.

If someone contacts an attorney to draw up a township abolition petition and, then, gets 500 signatures, in the present “in your face” atmosphere epitomized by Gerry McMahon’s performance Thursday night, Grafton Township government could be toast.

And someone’s political career, based on stopping waste in government, would be launched.

This is a perfect opportunity for local Democrats, but I’m not willing to bet that they will pick up the ball and reach the County Clerk’s filling goal line.

= = = = =
The skunk was found on the Illinois Department of Natural Resources web site. Gerry McMahon’s picture was taken while he was trying to convince annual town meeting electors to vote to approve a new township building.

Other articles in this series:

The Skunk, the Meerkats and the Elephant – Part 1

The Skunk, the Meerkats and the Elephant – Part 2