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.

Here’s a look at one month’s bill of Ancel Glink, the law firm which represents Grafton Township. You will note that it seems as if almost every decision passes through the hand of an attorney.

Former school superintendent Don Bond read much of the Ancel Glink legal bill at the March 11th Grafton Township meeting.

Resident Don Bonds read many parts of the bill at the last board meeting. He played the role this month that Grafton Township Trustee Gerry McMahon played in a previous month.

Page 1 on Ancel Glink's legal bill to Grafton Township. What I like best about this is the hour it took to research how to fill the vacancy of township clerk on 2/1 and the second hour it looks like it took to pretty much do the same think the next day. Note also that nothing takes less than 15 minutes. I would think attorneys would be able to bill in tenths of hours, that is, every six minutes. I imagine some do. (Click to enlarge.)

Page 2 of Ancel Glink's legal bill for Grafton Township. Note that it took an hour to prepare a congratulatory resolution for the outgoing township clerk, plus another 15 minutes to "prepare correspondence regarding proclamation" with more about the proclamation folded into exchanging correspondence with Trustee Rob LaPorta. That probably cost more than the plaque. (Click to enlarge.)

Page 3 of Ancel Glink's legal bill to Grafton Township. Note time spent providing the McHenry County State's Attorney with information. (Click to enlarge.)

Page 4 of Ancel Glink's legal bill to Grafton Township. Bills indicates job description for Township Administrator Pam Fender being prepared the day after she was hired. (Click to enlarge.)

Page 5 of Ancel Glink's legal bill to Grafton Township. An unnamed trustee complains about "false statements and misinformation in Northwest Herald blog" for which correspondence was prepared. That took 2.25 hours. Note correspondence from State's Attorney "regarding pending investigation." Anonymous trustee has document reviewed. (Click to enlarge.)

Grafton Township Attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer

Total hours billed for the shortest month of the year–90.25.

Total cost for three attorneys,

• Jeffrey R. Jurgens,
• Keri-Lyn Krafhefer and
• Jason T. Olsen,

billing Grafton Township $15,917.32.

That includes $301.07 for photocopies at an unstated rate per page.

Here it is, right on the official Grafton Township web site:

Announcement about excluding the non-voting public from the Grafton Township Annual Meeting, as of 12:45 PM on Friday, March 12th. Click to enlarge.

“Only registered voters may attend (and press), you will need to show some form of ID and your name will be matched to our County voters registration roles.”  (Emphasis added.)

Ancel Glick attorney Robert Bush

Guess whoever made the decision to put that up on the web site didn’t have an adequate understanding of the requirements of the Open Meetings Act.

Last night at the regular Grafton Township Board meeting, Ancel Glick partner Rob Bush disabused the trustees of any notion that they might be able to keep the non-registered public out:

“It is a public meeting so anyone who wants to come can come.”

Guess it’s time to change the web site.

Maybe it will be changed by the time you read this.

Dorr Township Attorney Mark Saladin and Supervisor Bob Pierce

“Filled to capacity” is how one person in attendance last night at the Dorr Township meeting.

The Dorr Township Hall meeting room is small, so that meant about 25 residents were present.

The biggest news was that Supervisor Bob Pierce was granted permission to enter negotiations for the purchase of land, which he said would not be purchased without having a special meeting to get elector approval.

Note that a special meeting is not the same as the annual town meeting, which is usually the best attended meeting of the year.

Pierce said residents “would be surprised.”

Steven Kaiser makes his points.

“Dorr is the fourth largest township with the smallest hall!” he observed.

Legat Architects was also hired to provide “pre-referendum services.”

Public comments came early on with Steve Kaiser, a member of the now-disbanded Dorr Township Citizens Committee, asking about why “soil borings” was changed to “architects.”

Those March 9th soil borings were not presented to the board by the Road Commissioner Tom Thurman because he wanted to seek assistance interpreting them.

With trustees and audience members putting in their two cents about whether the minutes reflected what had occurred at the previous meeting, the exchange got heated.

“This is not going to become another Grafton Township,” Township Supervisor Bob Pierce said.

During the Public Comment section, the Supervisor and Trustees questioned former members of the Dorr Citizens group who presented the petition to rebate taxes. Questions asked included -

1.       How the $1 million number was determined? The officials were told the citizens thought that was the rebate needed to allow a responsible amount to be left over after paying for modifications to garage site and building. After the $1 million rebate, $1.75 million would remain for needed work.

2.       Do you know how difficult and expensive it could be to track down all current and former residents to distribute rebate? Resident Jane Collins explained that in Bourbonnais (a Kankakee County Township) the amount which could not be returned had been given to charitable organizations, after a citizen-initiated motion at an annual town meeting.

Dorr Township Board and attorney

The citizens who proposed the rebate were also asked they thought about the McHenry County Conservation District’s building a visitor center.

Such an argument reminds me of how Grafton Township Trustee Gerry McMahon once listed local governmental entities that had built new administrative facilities—the Huntley School District, the Village of Huntley, McHenry County—as justification for a new Grafton Township Hall.

Township Road Commissioner Tom Thurman suggested some members of the Citizens Committee had “a hidden agenda.” He also said, “We know more than…” the Citizens Committee about what needs to be done.

“You don’t listen to us.”

That prompted a resident Larry Oakford to stand up to chide Thurman, saying his “demeanor is unseemly” and that comments about a hidden agenda were inappropriate. The man also asked about making use of existing space.

Trustee Mark Andersen said the board had been real conservative and was trying to “not drop a bomb on taxpayers.”

The board admitted it had been gradually accumulating funds so they wouldn’t have to go to referendum.

Citizen reading report at the Dorr Township meeting

Everyone knows how hard it is to pass a referendum, Road Commissioner Thurman said.

“The burden is on you to provide a justification about what you do,” Collins suggested, adding that some would say they had been borrowing from the taxpayers without their knowledge and permission since 2002, that what the referendum proposes is a way to pay back some of that loan to the taxpayers.

Thurman said the officials know how to do their job, that citizens shouldn’t be telling them how to do it.

Sue Brokaw, who is bookkeeper and does the General Assistance for Pierce, told the audience they should come to the levy meetings, and so they could do something before the township gets the money instead of complaining about it now.

Board members admitting they had discussed the three building project items “individually” before the meeting.

Vivian Sodini, member of the Dorr Planning Committee, asked why the trustees hadn’t taken the time before last night’s meeting to discuss the details of the recommendations with the committee.

Trustee Joseph Evanoff replied that they didn’t need to because, “We can read.”

When it was revealed that the architects had never been given our report, but had been given a scornful letter written by the one member of the citizens planning committee who thought our only job was to look for land, the audience was stunned. That same member, Ted Anderson, also interviewed architects with Trustee Barry Lamb.

Dorr Township Hall

In discussing one petition question citizens had submitted, it was revealed that the 600 ton capacity included for a new salt shed was based on faulty information. The needed amount being about 4,000 tons, that number was inserted in the question.

“You should have the entire year’s supply” at the start of the season, Road Commissioner Thurman said.

The board decided to put that question to the electors of the annual township meeting.

Members of the disbanded Dorr Township Planning Committee will be allowed make a presentation to electors at the annual meeting, provided they clearly specify they are doing so as electors and not members of the committee.

The meeting will probably be at the High School on South Street in order to hold a larger number of attendees.

Supporters of building a new township hall were also in attendance.

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.

You can read about this past week’s Grafton Township meeting in these articles:

Downsizing the Grafton Township Supervisor’s Office – Part 1

Downsizing the Grafton Township Supervisor’s Office – Part 2

Downsizing the Grafton Township Supervisor’s Office – Part 3

That’s the meeting where the township trustees, led by Rob LaPorta, moved Township Supervisor Linda Moore into the windowless township clerk’s office, moved newly-appointed Township Administrator Pam Fender into Moore’s outer office and the township clerk into Moore’s inner office.  To complete the game of musical ofices, Moore’s assistant was put where Fender was, the conference room through which one must go to find the bathroom.

Now, you can not only read my articles, but you can see all the action and raised voices yourself.  The index to the approximately 10-minute segments of YouTube videos, which you see below, is here.  (For some reason, they are not listed in order.)

YouTube Postings of March 2, 2010, Grafton Township meeting at which Linda Moore lost her office space.

Just in case you have an abnormal interest in public affairs,  you can see a lot of the meeting on YouTube.

The early reaction of LaPorta to David Moore’s taping you see below.

Trustee Rob LaPorta holding up paper to block David Moore's video taping of the March 2nd Grafton Township meeting.

Or, if you are into juvenile antics, take a look at the first YouTube posting.  Four minutes into it, you can see a man blocking the video taping the meeting.

Paper blocking David Moore from taping all township trustees but Barbara Murphy at March 2nd meeting.

You will see who is is below.  He took a photograph of David Moore after being admonished for his obstructive behavior by Supervisor Linda Moore.

Man who was blocking David Moore's videoing of the township trustees takes a picture of Moore after Supervisor Linda Moore admonished him for his obstructive behavior.

If you are really, really interested in what the township board does, here is a link where you can find the January 14, 2010, videos.  I see 20 parts, although they are not listed in order.  That was one long meeting.  These were not posted by the township.

As you watch the videos, remember that the Township Trustees voted not to operate under Robert’s Rules of Order.  The board operates under no rules of order.

“Do you think the trustees have management (power) day-to-day?” Supervisor Linda Moore asked Ancel Glick partner Keri-Lyn Krafterfer.

Township Attorney Keri-Lyn Krafterfer on the left, Township Administrator Pam Fender on the right.

She replied in the affirmative to which Moore asked her to

“Please put that in writing.”

On the offensive again, Moore asked newly-appointed Township Administrator Pam Fender,

“Do you intend to force your way into my office again?”

Discussion then went to the trustees desire to have internet “live access” to the Quick Books accounting program for themselves and Fender.

“A kid in high school can handle Quick Books,” Trustee Rob LaPorta observed. He added that he would exclude records about public assistance.

Then, back to the newly-designated Township Supervisor’s office again.

Gerry McMahon

“You want me to served General Assistance clients in a room without windows?”

“It has a window,” Gerry McMahon said, but was corrected.

“As long was we’re in the majority, we’re in control,”

said McMahon.

“Do you see any errors we’re making here,” LaPorta asked the attorney.

“No,” was the reply.

Rob LaPorta

Linda Moore

“She’s going to hired another attorney to block this thing,” LaPorta said.

“You’re directing an employee to give orders to an elected officials,” Moore said as the township trustees delegated the switching of offices to Fender.

“Motion for Pam to quarterback the move,” LaPorta said.

“Coordinate moving the offices,” McMahon suggested.

“Pam will direct and manage,” LaPorta offered.

That’s when we learned that he was in television at one time. He starting talking about reading the “script.”

“Take 2.

“…for the Grafton Township Administrator to coordinate the three office move that the Grafton Township Board voted upon tonight until completion.”

‘If you’re talking about Pam doing the directing…”

The motion passed, as others previously 4-1.

Then it was budget time.

Proposed Grafton Township Hall

“I messed up last week,” Trustee Betty Zirk admitted.

“All of the trustees did,” LaPorta agreed.

Then they started talking about the $3.5 million budgeted for the new township hall and how they had incorrectly added in about $600,000 that is sitting in the bank from the sale of the township hall to the township road district.

That’s when I took a break in the hall that lasted until the meeting was adjourned mercifully close to 9 o’clock.

= = = = =

Here is Part 1.

Here is Part 2.

The Grafton Township Board meeting started relatively calmly.

“If you want to remove me from office, do it officially,”

Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore challenged her board of trustees is where our story about Tuesday’s Grafton Township meeting begins.  (Here is Part 1.)

Grafton Township Trustee Rob LaPorta makes three points to Supervisor Linda Moore.

“You’ve proven yourself incompetent,” Trustee Rob LaPorta asserted.

“We never talked about that,” Gerry McMahon added.

“You are being a micro-manager,” Moore inserted.

“You should resign. Face it,” LaPorta said.

After Ancel Glick attorney Keri-Lyn Krafterfer spoke again without recognition, my notes say LaPorta said, “You have no rights.”

“You do not have a right to an office,” McMahon echoed.

Moore brought up again her attorney’s suggestion that they sit down with the township attorney and a trustee and try to work things out.

“Who would want to talk to you, Linda?” McMahon asked bombastically. “It’s bad enough we have to talk to you.”

“If you move me from my the offices, then you will be impeding my duties,” Moore added.

“Then sue us,” LaPorta said.

Grafton Township Attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer

“The actions of these trustees will lead the township into litigation,” Moore relied.

The township attorney again took the offensive:

“The supervisor is not entitled to an office.”

“You have received poor legal advice,” Moore told the trustees.

The subject jumped to emails, which have been requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

“I don’t have any emails,” Trustee Barb Murphy said.

A Linda Moore supporter wore this tee shirt to the township meeting.

“You’ve been withholding them from me,” Moore said to the trustees.

At this point LaPorta said,

“It’s a comedy.

“The Grafton Township Reality Show.”

Raising his voice again, McMahon interjected,

“I keep telling you. It’s four against one and you lose.”

= = = = =
More tomorrow.

Another night at the Huntley Park District complex, another contentious meeting.

$5 million (including interest) Grafton Township Hall that Grafton Township Linda Moore helped stifle before and after wining election last spring.

But, unlike the previous meetings, the real reason for the conflict—Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore’s decisive role in killing the $5 million (including interest) new township hall—didn’t come up except in revising the budget as the meeting was winding down.

The township board decided to move Moore out of her two-office complex into a windowless office heretofore occupied by the very part-time township clerk.

To the conference room will go Moore’s assistant, right next to the public bathroom.

While Township Trustee Rob LaPorta thought “none of (the instructions ordered by the board the week before had been carried out) but the (provision) of a stapler has been accomplished,” Township Administrator Pam Fender answers repeatedly indicated they had.

Moore went on the offensive, telling the board members she had talked to Assistant Illinois Attorney General Paul Gaynor about criminal violations concerning taking, hiding or destroying public records.

The cover of this month's magazine for township officials: "Supervisor is... manager, coordinator, administrator of township"

“Trustees should not cross over from governance to management,” Moore stated as she
passed out the cover of the latest edition of the township officials’ magazine. On the cover of Township Perspective is this headline:

Supervisor is…
manager, coordinator,
administrator of township

Later Moore accused the trustees of micromanaging township affairs.

“The employee works for the official. The board may have no employee of their own,” she read, apparently from the magazine article.

“That wasn’t a reflection of law,” interjected Township Attorney Keri-Lyn Krafterfer of Ancel Glick, who often seemed to be in control of the meeting.

‘The Huntley Police say I have the right to have my office locked,” Moore continued.

From left to right, Grafton Township Trustees Gerry McMahon, Betty Zirk, Rob LaPorta and Barbara Murphy.

“Stop threatening us,”

Trustee Gerry McMahon shouted.

“Until we get a letter from the Huntley Police, (it means nothing),” LaPorta said calmly.

“How would she like being at home?”

McMahon thundered.

“We are moving out of her office and into her clerk’s office,” LaPorta continued.

Interrupting, McMahon said, “I’ve heard many townships don’t provide an office.”

= = = = =

Here is Part 2.”>Part 2.