McHenry County Blog

Everybody’s got lawyers in Grafton Township.

Supervisor Linda Moore has John Nelson.

The Trustees have an Ancel Glink Partner Thomas Dicianni, at least for their case involving Moore.

Assessor Bill Ottley has Mike Poper.

Road Commissioner Jack Freund has Patrick Coen.

If one looked at expenditures to determine what the purpose of Grafton Township is, one might be excused for thinking it was to enrich attorneys.

Having heard more evidence than he undoubtedly wanted to, for the most part Judge Michael Caldwell has ruled on Moore’s side of the case.

Now the Assessor’s and the Road Commissioner’s attorneys are seeking changes of venue.

Neither want Judge Caldwell to hear their cases.

The Road Commissioner’s attorney will be in court Tuesday, the Assessor’s lawyer will be there Friday.

I asked a new face at the Grafton Township Meeting Thursday night what had attracted him.  I think he mentioned that he wanted to see the fireworks.

Our conversation happened during an Executive (secret) Session in which four of the five Board members(Trustee Barb Murphy was absent) were talking about selling or leasing property (presumably the Haligus Road lot bought in anticipation of building a new Township Hall) and hiring a “special counsel,” as Supervisor Linda Moore put it.

Everyone attending the meeting stuck around until after the closed session.

Nothing happened except adjournment.

There were the usual disputes between the Township Supervisor, the Trustees, the Road Commissioner, the Assessor.

It reminded me of the 1940′s radio show we would listen to on nights coming home to Easton, Maryland, from St. Michaels, Maryland.

It was called “The Bickersons.”

Highlights included Township Road Commissioner Jack Freund, by way of his attorney Patrick Coen, informing the Supervisor that the lease signed a year ago gave the Road Commissioner possession of the back room being used by Supervisor Linda Moore for a General Assistance Food Pantry.  There’s even a donated refrigerator in the room.

Moore countered by asking if the Road Commissioner was really going to evict the Food Pantry and pointing to the futile efforts of the Township Trustees to determine which offices she could occupy.

There was a dispute as to whether Township Assessor Bill Ottley could get half the cost of better insulated windows he wanted installed paid up front.

Whether expenses to pay for monthly McHenry County Council of Governments’ dinners were legitimate expenses or should be considered additional income was discussed.  Moore agreed to continue payment as had been the case for the last eight years.

Trustee Gerry McMahon wondered numerous times when he was going to get paid.  Last meeting, when the audit was being presented, he left after about 12 minutes.

But, there was more agreement than usual.

They did agree to go into Executive Session and they did seem to be interviewing the attorney.

There was talk of another meeting next week to discuss what had been discussed in secret.

All the air was sucked out of the 7 PM Annual Town Meeting of Grafton Township as Linda Moore’s opponents won the vote in the Special Town Meeting that started an hour before.

The Annual Town Meeting started about twenty after seven and was adjourned without any real business being done at 7:55.

At issue in the earlier meeting was whether the Township Board should be mandated to repay the $700,000 loan from the Township Road District (a separate governmental entity) to build a new Township Hall in a lump sum or whether the three-year payback contained in an intergovernmental agreement reached between Road Commissioner Jack Freund and the four Trustees was good enough.

Jim Kearns, the same man who was elected Moderator of the last year’s meeting, which Moore’s forces dominated, won that vote against Huntley School Board member Mike Skala for the six o’clock meeting.

When the time for repayment debate came, however, supporters of the Trustees managed to frame the issue.

They seized the initiative.

A drum beat of comments were made referencing the lack audits for the last two years and, because of that, not knowing if the township had $700,000 with which to repay the loan.

[No one mentioned that just-resigned audit firm Wayne Brown & Company refused to perform the audit until Moore's separation of powers litigation was concluded. Moore won that case in which Judge Michael Caldwell ruled that the Trustees overstepped their authority.]

Both the Trustees and Moore have selection of an auditor on their dueling agendas for the next regular township meeting on Thursday, April 14th, at 7:30 at the Huntley Park District building.

(After the meetings were over, Moore insisted that the Grafton Food Pantry account had been removed from the Quick Books data base after she defeated John Rossi for Township Supervisor. She said that Wayne Brown keeps the books for the Food Pantry.)

Trustee Barb Murphy lead the attack on the lump sum motion, defending the Trustee’s actions and blaming Moore for the not repaying of the first installment of $200,000.

“The Trustees are not refusing to repay the loan. The Supervisor is,” she said.

Tammy Luecht, one of Moore’s allies, outlined how the bank will not accept partial payment of the $700,000 loan, how the township will be paying $2,600 a month in rent to the Road District, plus running up interest on the loan for the three years.

She also pointed out that there was $611,000 sitting in the bank that could not be spent for anything but loan repayment.

“We’re going to be very, very short of funds,” Township Trustee Betty Zirk, going on her 12th year on the Board said.

One CPA told the audience,

“One payment just appears to me, based on Ms. Moore’s own numbers, to be an incredibly bad idea.”

A woman questioned a telephone transfer of the $611,000 made by Moore.

Moore explained that she put in a money market fund so it would earn interest.

“If indeed we haven’t had an audit, any of us who run a business wouldn’t run our business that way. I don’t think we ought to ramrod paying something off (without it),” a Sun City man stated.

A second Sun City businessman immediately added, “Why haven’t we had an audit?”

A woman on the pay-back-immediately side argued, “It’s not ours to do anything with. It’s not our money. Give this money back.”

A blond woman replied, “Last year we didn’t vote for a lump sum (repayment). We don’t have a 2009 audit. A 2010 audit is due soon.”

” My son does audits and they find things wrong. I don’t know why we can’t wait until after the audit is submitted,” another woman added.

The elephant in the room was brought up by Tom Legowski (?):

“A lot of the money we don’t have is because of the litigation. I think it would be a wonderful idea if they start representing the people, rather than their own interests.”

“We’re trying to save the township from bankruptcy,” Trustee Murphy said in her second trip to the microphone.

“I’m tired of the bickering,” a life-long resident said. She said the $700,000 loan was “illegal. It is wrong.” [A story about Judge Caldwell's decision overturning the former Township Board's decision to borrow the $700,000 can be found here.]

“I don’t know how you can drain all the money. Right now, I wouldn’t trust any figures,” a Lakewood man replied.

A CPA from Lake in the Hills noted the over $65,000 a month “burn rate of cash.”

He said, “Mrs. Moore is absolutely correct (re having enough operating money), but suggested going with “what the Trustees have done. He then mentioned the quarter of million in legal fees.

“I’m absolutely not trilled with either side.”

A Huntley man observed, “We now have $611,000. If we don’t (fall) short before June (when real estate tax money comes in), we’ll have to borrow less than $700,000.

“If we hadn’t spent $485,000 in legal fees since this started, we’d have plenty of money.

An amendment was offered something during the debate to require the repayment “sixty days after completion of the audits for both years.”

A voice vote on the amendment failed.

The vote on the lump sum repayment failed 140-85 [I got a larger number of positive votes last night after asking for verification of the tally.]

As the tally was announced, part of the crowd cheered loudly.

The next motion talked about personally penalizing township board members who didn’t follow the directions of the Annual Town Meeting.

Road District Attorney Coen took the floor and said,

“What you’re voting on electors don’t have the authority to do.”

The motion disappeared under the weight of that opinion.

And, at about 7:20, the six o’clock meeting was adjourned.

At that point, a lot of people started leaving the room.

How many?

Remember how the vote for the early lump sum motion was 140-128.

Mike Skala won the moderator post for the Annual Town Meeting 42-38.

Over half the people filed out during the intermission.

Reports from the Township Supervisor and Road Commissioner were read.

Someone wanted to ask Moore about the audit situation, but she had stepped out of the room.

During the public comment period, Lake in the Hills’ Bruce Augustine tried to make a motion to add an agenda item to discuss the audit, but was ruled out of order by Skala.

A female ally of the Trustees said, “The Trustees have not initiated any single law suit. They did not want to spend a half million dollars on law suits. The Trustees had to pya for their defense. Please stop bringing lawsuits against (the Township). ”

She added that she’d like to have the Forensicon audit to be completed and paid for.

A man retorted, “For the last six years what the Board has done has been illegal. It was proved in court and the appellate court.

“They’re still fighting. The $611,000 could only be paid for the loan. It should not be in the General Fund.”

A young woman pointed out that the lump sum payment had been voted down at the previous meeting and added, “I’d like to find a way to force Linda Moore to get the audit done.”

Tom Halat, who was one of the people whose suit resulted in the John Rossi Township Board having acted out of accordance with state law when it borrowed the $700,000 made this reply:

“The former administration perpetrated illegal acts. Ancel Glink twice said it was an illegal act (at the Annual Meeting last year). In December, Judge Caldwell said illegal, illegal, illegal. They spent $300,000 of our tax dollars defending their illegal activities.”

It was Trustee Murphy to the microphone again.

“Hiring Pam Fender was not an illegal act. It’s just the Supervisor had to do it…(what) Mr. Rossi (and the former Township board did) wasn’t illegal. It was two items done improperly.”

Luecht took the floor saying she had read the minutes of the Township meetings and “”There was never an action taken by the Board to separate the Food Pantry from the township.”

She said she was still waiting for the Food Pantry records to be included in the audit.

Trustee Betty Zirk took the floor saying she was going on her 12th year and

“The Food Party never had a line item on the (Township) budget.  It was housed by the Township, run by volunteers, some of our employees helping out.  the Food Pantry never was part of the Township.”

A man from the other side of the room noted, “It’s been a whole year and nothing has been paid back. How can we trust people when they continually  (against the voters’ wishes).

“They are a bunch of liars.  What makes you think they’re going to pay it back in three years.

“Betty, you’ve been there twelve years too long.”

That earned him an admonition from Moderator Skala.

“The Trustee have attempted to pay back the money.  It has been blocked by the Supervisor,” Augustine retorted.

“I’ve worked for public bodies. My understanding is there is supposed to be an audit every year.  I don’t now how you can operate.  I don’t understand it.”

Jim Kearns took the microphone.

“I understand that the $700,000 will be held in the Road fund for three years because the bank will not take back anything but a lump sum.

“I’d like to see everyone start getting along and stop this bull.

“You need to start growing up, you guys.  That goes for everyone.

“Start doing it today!”

Another man advanced the opinion that it was “time to have a recall and start over again and get people in office to be stewards of our tax money.”

[Recall is not an option in Illinois.]

“‘Liars’ is a pretty strong statement.  I’d hate to think an elected official is a liar.”

 

At this point someone moved to adjourn and the motion passed.

= = = = =
Want to know how the missing part of the $700,000 was spent. Here’s the only place you’ll find out.

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.

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.

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.

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.

At least since I’ve been attending.

At least for ones when the trustees showed up.

I got there late, walking through all the halls of the Huntley Park
District Recreation Center before I thought to read the public notice near the entrance.

And, miracle of miracles, the township trustees attended a meeting called by Supervisor Linda Moore.

She seems to have called the meeting to get approval to post the township budget for next year. That got approved before I arrived. State law says it has to be posted for a month ahead of passage and passage must be before the end of June.

Since it’s May 27th, the township board was cutting it close.

The second major subject Moore put on the agenda was paying back the loan to the township road district (a separate governmental entity), which was ordered Shortest Grafton Township Meeting on Record by the electors at the Annual Town Meeting on April 13th.

Apparently the lawyers for the road commissioner and the township trustees had not had time since the May 13th regular board meeting to get together.

Patrick Coen, Jack Freund’s attorney, pointed out that the intergovernmental agreement prepared by Ancel Glink Partner Keri-Lyn Krafthefer did not contain the lease-back document attached.

Krafthefer did not attend the meeting.

Neither did a stand-in.

When I arrived Coen was pointing out the problems with the Ancel Glink paperwork.

Moore then read a statement telling the trustees that Freund had agreed to a short-term loan to the Town Fund from Road District money so the loan could be repaid the bank.

“We do have the money to pay the Road District $600,000 immediately,” Moore said. She pointed out there is $702,000 in the Town Fund and $366,000 in the Road Fund.

“Every single outstanding bill must be paid first,” Trustee Gerry McMahon insisted…repeatedly.

Moore has refused to pay bills that she did not sign the paperwork for. That includes the one approaching $10,000 for computer experts Forensicon to determine who took what records off the township computer and bills that Township Administrator Pam Fender authorized. Moore, of course, contends that Fender has no right to employment, let alone authority to spend township tax dollars.

“I did not force you to sell the building,” McMahon stated. “All this is a money grab!”

Trustee Betty Zirk, the longest serving member and strong advocate of building a new township hall, stated, “We said we would bring this up at our regular June meeting.”

“You understand that it’s costs the Road District $100 a day?” Moore asked.

Trustee Barb Murphy concurred with delaying the vote, as did Trustee Rob LaPorta. He argued for “correspondence between the two attorneys.”

“I just got the bill from the bank this month,” Road Commissioner Freund revealed. “It’s $15,000.”

Moore ruled something McMahon was saying was not “germane.”

“When I talk, it’s germane,”

he retorted forcefully.

LaPorta moved to table the discussion “because the Road District doesn’t agree with the intergovernmental agreement.”

Freund pointed out that with the agreement of the township to lease office space, “you guys could say, ‘Good-bye.’”

I think it was Road District Attorney Coen who pointed out that without the leaseback’s inclusion in the intergovernmental agreement, it “doesn’t comply with the electorate (passed) resolution.”

“It will be taken care of by the attorneys,” LaPorta said.

“It’s just another bill,” McMahon asserted.

“I want to make a motion to adjourn,” Zirk interjected.

“It’s bad enough I have to be here…” McMahon said loudly, to which Murphy told him to “Shut up and…” I didn’t catch the rest.

“Have you looked at my budget,” Freund wanted to know before adjournment. “You’ve had it for over a month.”

McMahon spoke negatively of it, the second meeting I have noticed that he is antagonistic toward Freund.

“I haven’t had a chance to go through it,” Zirk said.

The meeting adjourned as Moore was offering to show any trustee who wished to see the township books, which were on her computer being projected on a screen behind her.

The meeting was over in a half an hour.

Less for me, since I got lost getting there.

The second page of the Ancel Glink March bills for the Annual Town Meeting, which was held April 13th, is the subject today.

First, we finish up March 10th:

• “Correspondence to Pam Fender with memo to board regarding annual town meeting (Keri-Lyn Krafthefer – one quarter of an hour)
• “Complete revisions to resolutions and memorandum; finalize same (Paula Randal – one hour)

There were a few empty seats near the top of the Huntley High School bleachers in the half hour the meeting was delayed to check the over 700 registered voters in.

March 11th, Ancel Glink billed three hours:

• Research and correspond on annual meeting agenda issues and requirements for same (Paula Randall – half an hour)
• Continue work on resolutions related to annual town meeting; revisions to memo regarding same; review board packet and agenda (and) respond to correspondence from Acting Clerk” (Krafthefer – one hour)
• Revise memo to town board; prepare resolution accepting conveyance of property (Scott Puma – one hour)

Waiting for the meeting to start, some studied the handout from the opponents of building a new township hall or buying and remodeling an old Huntley factory buildling. Others chatted.

March 16th, there was only a quarter of an hour billed. Krafthefer answered a question about the annual town meeting, but the bill does not say who asked it.

And still more people were wating to be checked in.

March 18th, Krafthefer had an inquiry, again from a person unrevealed, about the minutes and the annual meeting. In addition, she “advise(d) on proposed town meeting agenda (and) research(ed) issue regarding annual financial report.” Still again, the person to whom the advice was given remains secret.

After the bleacher seats were filled, people fended for themselves and brought in chairs that were grouped around small tables in the hall.

March 19th, only a half hour was billed by Krafthefer. She “review(ed) statutory provisions regarding annual financial statement (and) prepare(d) correspondence regarding same and regarding annual town meeting.”

Huntley Police Chief John Perkins confers with Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore prior to the start of the Annual Town Meeting.

March 22nd saw more work by the main Township Attorney “on unwind materials for annual meeting in preparation for establishing agenda for annual town meeting,” plus review(ing) and respond(ing) to inquiry regarding annual town meeting agenda.” Is the fourth instance where Krafthefer didn’t manage to identify who made the inquiry?

The Haligus Road property that the previous Grafton Township Board under th leadership of John Rossi purchasded from the Village of Lake in the Hills. Electors at the Annual Town Meeting voted to sell it for a minimum of $99,500 after giving the LITH Board first refusal.

March 23rd saw billing Grafton Township for two and three-quarters hours to

• “Continue work on 4 resolutions for annual town meeting
• “Confer with attorney for Lake in the Hills regarding Halligus Road property
• “Work on issues related to unwind of land transactions
• “Confer with Assessor regarding same
• “Review background material regarding property transfers
• “Review annual town meeting minutes from 2009.”

Lake in the Hills Attorney Rich Flood

Pat Coen, the Grafton Township Road Commissioner's Attorney

On March 24th, two phone calls were made by Krafthefer to fellow attorneys, one to Patrick Coen, the Road Commissioner’s attorney, and the other to Rich Flood, Lake in the Hills’ legal counsel. No way to know how long the phone calls were, but the bill was a quarter of an hour for each or $46.25 per call.

March 29th was a light day, too. Krafthefer billed $92.50 for a half an hour to “review correspondence from Patrick Coen regarding issues related to unwind; work on issue regarding Haligus Road property.

Grafton Township Road Commissioner Jack Freund's Attorney Pat Coen confers with Grafton Township Trustees' Attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer. Apparently, the time billed for conferring with Coen during March was inadequate to reach agreement on what should occur at the Annual Town Meeting.

March 30th saw two Ancel Glink attorneys billing Grafton Township. Krafthefer put in three-quarters of an hour to “finalize materials in preparation for special meeting to establish agenda for annual town meeting” and Randall billed 3¾ hours to “work on resolutions relating to Haligus Road property.

March 31st, finally, the end of the month and the daily billings. Krafthefer drafted a revised annual town meeting agenda and sent it to newly-appointed Township Clerk Harriet Ford, as well as reviewed the referendum question relating to the financing for the town hall. She also worked on language for the Haligus Road transactions and reviewed the the proposed list of surplus property.

And, all of that took just time time normally billed for two phone calls, a half an hour.

Randall spent two hours reviewing and preparing the draft resolutions, plus holding “conferences with Assessor (Bill) Ottley and staff.” This time Ottley’s name was spelled correctly.

45 hours billed to prepare for the April 13th Annual Town Meeting during March.

Below you can see a summary of which attorneys billed how much for this “Annual Town Meeting” part of the $36,432.14 Ancel Glink bill to Grafton Township for March of 2010.