McHenry County Blog

The Grafton Township Electoral Board consisted of Clerk Harriet Ford and Trustees Barbara Murphy and Betty Zirk. To the right is Ancel Glink attorney Adam Lasker.

In a completely scripted performance lasting just ten minutes,

•  petition challenger Wrayburn Krohn’s attorney, Judith Svensen, withdrew her client’s objection,
• the Grafton Township Electoral Board accepted the withdrawal and
• ruled unanimously that Pam J. “Pam” Fender would appear on the Republican primary ballot on February 26, 2013

The objection had been based primarily on Fender’s have put two names in the box where the candidate’s name appeared, plus having noted the election was on Feb. 26, 2012, rather than 2013.

Electoral Board Chairwoman Barbara Murphy got over the first problem by announcing Fender’s name would read, Pamela J ‘Pam’ Fender.”

Objector’s attorney Judith Svensen was up and down so fast that by the time I took this photo, the action had moved to Pam Fender, seen holding up her hand.

The incorrect date was ignored since the objection was withdrawn.

Fender sat next to her attorney Jim Kelly, whom she announced soon after declaring her candidacy would be running on her “peace” slate for township trustee.  Kelly did not file for that office.

Besides Murphy, the other members of the Electoral Board were Clerk Harriet Ford and Trustee Betty Zirk.  Both Murphy and Zirk voted to install Fender as Township Administrator without advertising the opening.

Watching the proceedings were primary opponents Martin Waitzman and Linda Moore.

Attorney for the Electoral Board was Adam Lasker of Ancel Glink.

Pam Fender.

Pam Fender’s web site for her campaign for Grafton Township Supervisor shows she is running as part of a slate in the Republican primary election in late February.

Besides Zirk, who is a known factor, the other three are identified below with what Fender has put about them on her web site:

Jim Kelly

Jim Kelly and his family have lived in Huntley for 13 years. He is a practicing attorney in McHenry County. He has helped Grafton Township as an attorney for many years, but now wants to help the residents of Grafton as a Trustee. He cares about its Senior population, thinks new programs and expansion of the existing programs, all brought about in a Peaceful situation, will benefit all residents.

Marci Gordon

Marci Gordon and her family have lived in the area for some time. Marci was the Moderator at the 2012 Grafton Township Annual Meeting. She has been going to Grafton Meetings, becoming more and more alarmed at the actions of the current Supervisor. Marci has a compassionate heart and a logical brain, she will benefit our residents by her good ideas and great intellect.

Jenn Jones is a young Mom, with a heart of gold and the head of Sherlock Holmes. She can scour over financial pages, look through reams of paperwork, finding out all the facts needed to see a situation in its real light. As a trustee, she will be an asset to the Grafton Township board.

The McHenry Moose was the site of the McHenry Township Republican Pig Roast.

Saturday afternoon, McHenry Township Republicans gathered at the McHenry Moose for a pig roast and to hear candidates make their pitches.

McHenry County Blog prevailed upon attendee Becky Kress to share her photos.

Barb Wheeler presents her request for support.

McHenry County Board member Barb Wheeler, who has announced her intentions to run for State Representative in the 64th District whose southern tip is my precinct in Crystal Lake and Lakewood and goes north to Antioch, was one of the speakers.

Congressman Joe Walsh makes his pitch, while Crystal Lake's Bryan Javor and band member Tim Stewart listen.

8th District Congressman Joe Walsh made a pitch for re-election, even though he doesn’t know who his potential future constituents will be. (He made a second appearance in Aurora at State Senator Chris Lauzen’s Porky Picnic later in the day. Lauzen announced he would give up his Senate seat to run for Kane County Board Chairman.)

Joe Walsh mixed with those in attendance as well as speaking. The women to his immediate left as Wonder Lake Fire Protection District Trustee Cheryl Hammerand. On the right is Barbara Klasen, Greenwood Township Supervisor.

A photo of State Senator Dan Duffy was captured.

State Senator Dan Duffy talks to Barb Wheeler and her husband Joe.

Steven Rooney, recently elected to the Johnsburg School Board is caught with a John O’Neill for County Board tee shirt.

Johnsburg School Board member Steve Rooney

McHenry County Board members Tina Hill and Mary Donner were seen chatting at one table.

Tina Hill and Mary Donner sat at the same table.

The star of the day may have been the pig.

The roasted pig seemed to have no opinion regarding the candidates.

State Senator Dan Duffy got a turn at the microphone.

Dan Duffy speaks.

Both State Senator Pam Althoff and State Rep. Mike Tryon were enjoying the roast pig.

Pam Althoff and Mike Tryon confer. Greenwood Township Supervisor Barbara Klasen (standing) talks to MaryDonner in the center. Kathy Kutcha is on the right.

Newly-appointed State Rep. Kent Gaffney spoke to the gathering, but the photo with his son was really fuzzy.

Kent Gaffney (on the right) attends to some paperwork, as does McHenry Township Road Commissioner Leon Van Every.

The event had at least one McHenry Alderman in attendance–Andy Glab.

Pam Althoff converses with Helen and Andy Glab.

Tina Hill posed with McHenry Township GOP work horse Kathy Kuchta.

McHenry County Auditor Pam Palmer was campaigning for re-election.

Former McHenry County Auditor and GOP Chairman and his wife Carrie are greeting by current Auditor Pam Palmer.

There were many others at the successful fund raiser.

McHenry Township Clerk Bruce Novak chows down.

A two-elected official family, McHenry County Board member John Hammerand and Wonder Lake Fire Protection District Board member Cheryl (seen with Joe Walsh above) were enjoying themselves.

John Hammerand has a discussion with Jim Kelly.

Supervisor Linda Moore

Trustee Rob LaPorta

10 AM is the time court begins.

It’s the trial between Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore and the Grafton Township Trustees consisting of Robert LaPorta, Betty Zirk, Barbara Murphy and Gerry McMahon.

Trustee Betty Zirk

At the last hearing, Township Administrator Pam Fender, appointed by the township board to supplant Moore in as many functions as legally possible, testified that Moore had not cooperated with her.

In addition, Township Trustee Rob LaPorta, the floor leader of the trustees, testified as to the difficulty of getting along with Moore.

One point LaPorta made was that attorneys had been approved by the township board under Moore’s predecessor John Rossi.

Trustee Gerry McMahon

I have filed a Freedom of Information request asking for newly appointed Township Clerk Harriet Ford to produce any pages of minutes from 2005-2009 that would verify that sworn testimony, but have not received a satisfactory reply.

I even narrowed my request by listing the legal firms that had received payments under Rossi with their first and last payments.  I figure board approval would have come before the first payment and termination would precede the last payment.

Trustee Barb Murphy

Here is what included:

• Ancel Glink – the first payment I found was 6-20-5 for $1,110.  The last significant one was $5,878 on 8-14-5.  Another $87.50 was paid on 3-24-6
• Chapman and Cutler – $15,000 on 8-11-8. This is the only bill.
• Matuszewich, Kelly & McKeever – The first bill ($2,850) was paid on 7-11-6.  I am informed that Linda Moore terminated the first when she took office, but bills were being paid well into the first year.
• Militello, Zanck & Coen – I see a 5-9-5 payment for $50 and a 7-15-5 payment for $100.

I told Ford after last Thursday’s meeting that a statement from her that no such minutes can be found would be adequate.

In any event, the trial will resume in Judge Michael Caldwell’s court.

I’ll be sitting on the hard seats, so you won’t have to.

We have been looking at the details in the Ancel Glink invoice to Grafton Township for the month of March, 2010. So far, we have finished what Ancel Glink calls the

• “Corporate” and
• “Linda Moore v. Grafton Township”

portions of the bill.

Now, we move into the only one-page section, which is entitled, “Daniel G. Ziller, Jr. et al. v. Gerry McMahon, et al.

Finishing up the Ziller v. Grafton Township case that the Trustees lose before Judge Michael Caldwell. Click to enlarge.

Former Grafton Township Attorney Jim Kelly, who served under Township Supervisor John Rossi.

Monday, March 15th, Keri-Lyn Krafthefer “prepare(s) for court appearance” and “confers with Jim Kelly regarding same” for an hour. Kelly was the township’s attorney before he was replaced with Joe Gottemoller, who resigned after dealing with the situation over last summer.

Former Grafton Township Attorney Joe Gottemoller. Gottemoller followed Jim Kelly.

(See What Grafton Township’s Just Resigned Attorney Sees as Looming Legal Issues and

Resigning Grafton Township Attorney Accuses Board of Being More Interested in “Being Right” than “Doing What’s Right” and

Take This Job and Shove It , all three articles about Gottemoller’s resignation and the township’s unresolved legal problems.)

March 16th Krafthefer billed the township for three hours for “prepar(ing) for and attend(ing) court appearance before Judge (Michael) Caldwell, review(ing) the proposed order and meet(ing) with attorney Kelly.”

March 17th the Township Attorney spends a quarter of an hour reviewing the proposed draft order with Kelly.

March 18th another quarter hour is billed “review(ing) and respond(ing) to correspondence regarding implication of court order.” No indication is given as to whom the letter or email is sent.

March 23rd drew another quarter of an hour bill for “review(ing) correspondence from Jim Kelly” and “review(ing) the court order entered in the Ziller case regarding injunction.”

New Township Hall proposed for Haligus Road in Lake in the Hills.

Total cost to Grafton Township taxpayers for the five hours on the invoice?

$925.

Crystal Lake attorney Jim Bishop won the case for those opposed to building a new $5 million (when interest is included) Grafton Township Hall.

First, he won before Judge Michael Caldwell in Circuit Court.

Then, when the Trustees tried to do an end run by providing full notice at a township board meeting, Bishop own again. The judge informed their attorney that he meant they could try again at an Annual Town Meeting, which, of course, they just did and failed miserably.

The Township Trustees did not give up, appealing Caldwell’s decision to the 2nd Appellate Court. Bishop won a third time.

Township Administrator Pam Fender holds up the real estate listing of the vacant factory building she found at the March 11, 2010, meeting.

Other relevant articles include

The Skunk, the Meerkats and the Elephant – Part 1

The Skunk, the Meerkats and the Elephant – Part 2

The Skunk, the Meerkats and the Elephant – Part 3

There is still a court-order referendum on whether to build a township hall to be held at the November elections.  I know of no one who thinks it has a chance of passing…especially after the over 700 verified registered voter turn out at the Annual Town Meeting.

All efforts by the current Township Trustees to resurrect the question of new offices, including purchasing an old, empty factory found by Township Administrator Pam Fender were trounced.

That, however, did not seem to discourage the Trustees.  The very next day, they filed court papers intended to bounce Linda Moore from office.

Grafton Township Democrats certainly have their eyes on the bickering Republican office holders. In this photo of part of the audience at an early Septembeer, 2009, meeting you can see future Democratic Party Chairman Mike Bissett, his wife, McHenry County Board member Paula Yensen, outgiong Township Attorney Jim Kelly and McHenry County Board member Jim Kennedy.

All of this infighting among officials elected as Republicans leads me to believe Democrats will control Grafton Township government after the 2013 elections.

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.

Getting rid of the deals that went down to build a new town hall on Haligus Road without a referendum was the primary campaign promise that propelled challenger Linda Moore to a 30-vote Republican primary victory over Grafton Township Supervisor John Rossi.

The message was

“What is someone put a second mortgage on your home…without asking your permission?

“Your Grafton Township Supervisor and his township trustees have done something very close to that.

“Borrowing $3.5 million to build a new township hall without voter approval…in the middle of a recession…while spending less than $17,000 last year helping people in need with General Assistance…is bad government.

“You will have to pay that $3.5 million – PLUS interest – back with your property taxes.

“If you want an elected official who will ask your opinion before you are put into debt

“Vote for Linda Moore for Grafton Township Supervisor”

Put on a yard sign, the message was

NO TAXATION WITHOUT REFERENDUM

A court case led by Dan Ziller, Jr., in which Moore was a co-plaintiff forced to repayment of a $3.5 million township loan intended to pay for most of that building.  Judge Michael Caldwell made the decision.

(Ziller ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign for township trustee in which he emphasized the $3.5 million loan on his yard signs.)

It also forced a voter referendum on whether to borrow $3.5 million to build a new township hall.

Another $611,000 was raised by selling the current town hall to the to the Township Road District. Moore said last night that transaction did not end up in the minutes.

(Two different legal entities were created by the General Assembly resulting from township road commissioners wanting less oversight from township boards.)

In any event, the township hall is now controlled by the Road Commissioner Jack Freund. He has to be repaid over $611,000. He was planning to do so by charging the Town Fund rent, plus kicking in the difference from Road Fund taxes. The township board even paid a $66,000 commission on the transaction to McHenry County Board member Marc Munaretto.

When I left the Grafton Township meeting last night, the board was hiding behind closed doors so the public could not hear what its members were saying or what the two lawyers present were advising.

Newly-elected Township Supervisor Linda Moore had not fared well earlier, as she had been advised that her 7 PM meeting had been improperly posted and the 7:30 meeting, which has also been improperly, but not fatally wrongly posted, had gone according to the majority bloc of four trustees plans.

But when the doors at the Huntley Park District opened, the board took action to “unwind” the loan Grafton Township took out to buy its own township hall (after taxpayers had already paid for it once).

Only Moore’s erstwhile running mate Gerry McMahon voted against

When the vote was taken, Moore wasn’t the lonely girl that she was before going in

So, what happened?

“We were informed by the township attorney that the way things were done were not in accordance with the law,” Moore told me, “and it left the township open to suit.“In order to avoid further legal expenses, four of the five members of the board voted in favor of Barb Murphy’s motion to unwind the selling of the township property to the Road District.”

At the October board meeting Trustee Barbara Murphy signaled her desire to undo the Town Hall loan:

“My own opinion—I say we do the unwind. Put it all back to where it was and start from scratch.“Frankly, in my own opinion, I’m tired of this garbage.“I’m tired of it.

“I’m tired of it. (I want it done.)”

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 only 10% 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.

An all-female panel of Illinois’ Second Appellate Court ruled today that McHenry County Circuit Court Judge Michael Caldwell was right when stopped the building of a new Grafton Township Hall which was approved without public notice or vote by Supervisor John Rossi and his four-member township board.

In the too little, too late category was a September 17th letter from the four Grafton Township trustees’ attorney, Jim Kelly, offering to settle the suit in exchange for next year’s fall referendum on the subject.

Grafton Township taxpayers Dan Ziller, Richard and Tamera Lueth, Tom Halat, Frank Kearns and Township Supervisor candidate Linda Moore filed the original suit.  Moore withdrew from the suit when she was sworn into office.

Justice Ann Jorgensen delivered the opinion with Justices Susan Hutchison and Mary Seminara-Schostok concurring.

Jorgensen and Seminara-Schostok were in Crystal Lake recently attending the Nunda Township Republican Picnic.  They are both appointed justices running for their first ten-year term. 

Justice Susan Hutchison is a resident of Crystal Lake. 

Crystal Lake attorney Jim Bishop represented the winning side.
= = = = =
The photo is from the Nunda Township Republican Picnic.  You see McHenry County Republican Party Chairman and State Rep. Mike Tryon posing with Jorgensen and Schostok.

When Linda Moore was elected Township Supervisor over incumbent John Rossi, she dismissed the previous attorney Jim Kelly. The board hired Joe Gottemoller to replace him.

Now, just a couple of months into the job, Gottemoller has tendered his resignation.

Here’s the letter he sent:

“With this correspondence I am submitting my resignation as the Grafton Township attorney effective immediately.

“Since 1982 I have practiced law either in private practice or as an assistant states attorney. I have served in McHenry County on two separate task forces and on the McHenry County Conservation District Board of Trustees. In addition, my private practice has taken me in front of almost every governmental entity in McHenry County and some in Kane and Lake Counties. With all this work, even when the things did not go my way I was proud to be associated with the officials who were doing their best to serve the citizens who elected them.

“I cannot say that about Grafton Township. The township officials appear to have forgotten that their purpose is to serve the residents who entrusted them with these offices.

“During the past few months I have had the responsibility to the Township to give good sound legal advice on how to address many of the complicated issues that are before you. For example, the Township is now saving $426 per day because the $3.5 million in bond debentures was unwound. Bu make no mistake; there are some extremely important issues that remain. I list them here and expand on them in an attachment:

• The lawsuit over the construction of the building
• The sale of the existing building to the Highway Department
• The ownership of the Food Pantry

Although I would have been proud to assist with these issues, it appears that no one on this board actually wants them resolved unless it is done with maximum embarrassment to their political enemies.

“I will not waste another moment of my time of officials who are more interest(ed) in ‘being right’ than ‘doing what’s right.’

And, no, the mild mannered Gottemoller did not say,

as I entitled my article last night about his resignation.

More on this story Saturday.