McHenry County Blog

I have written how reformer State Rep. Jeanne Hurley got snookered into sponsoring a bill in 1957 to prohibit reporters like Jack Mabley from using tape recordings of legislative corruption.

Hurley married Paul Simon and is Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon’s mother.

The retired State Representative who told me the story was Roland Libonatii.  After taking a busman’s holiday to the Illinois House Chambers, we were in the Amtrak Station waiting for the train back to Chicago.

Marvelous story of how those close to the Currency Exchange scandal took steps to try to prevent others from getting similar evidence of corruption.

So, now people have cell phones and record everything imaginable, even police making arrests.

And the policemen don’t like being held accountable.

You can see that from this recent YouTube taken by professionals across the street from a Chicago Hospital where a little girl had been taken after having been shot by a gang banger.  (Thanks to Illinois Review for pointing me to it.)

So, why is House Republican Leader Tom Cross leading the way to coverup wrongdoing?

You tell me. I didn’t hear the debate.

Here’s the 45-59-1 roll call vote on House Bill 1944:

Besides House Republican Leader Tom Cross, State Reps. representing parts of McHenry County who voted against the reform bill include Kent Gaffney and Tim Schmidt. Democrat Jack Franks was missing from the House floor today. State Rep. Mike Tryon voted in favor of the measure.

Here’s how the synopsis describes the bill:

“Provides that a person who is not a law enforcement officer nor acting at the direction of a law enforcement officer may record the conversation of a law enforcement officer who is performing a public duty in a public place and any other person who is having a conversation with that law enforcement officer if the conversation is at a volume audible to the unassisted ear of the person who is making the recording.”

One thing is certain. Grafton Township officials make enough use of law firm Ancel Glink’s services that readers of the legal fee invoices can discover a lot of what is happening on a day-by-day basis.  Today’s bill covers the last half of March.

As we continue through the fourteen pages of Grafton Township’s law firm’s bill for the month of March, we see that the outside auditor selected without any Request for Proposal by the Township Trustees (Wally Brown is the name used) is the subject of consideration.

Page 3 of Ancel Glick's legal bill to Grafton Township. (Click to enlarge.)

Again the agenda comes up. “Closed session minutes” also occupy the time of the attorney.

Perhaps readers get a clue when the idea for hiring a professional videographer was conceived On March 22nd, Township Administrator Pam Fender faxed a proposal to Keri-Lyn Krafthefer. It took a quarter of an hour to review, costing taxpayers $46.25. (Not the videoing of the meeting. That costs $250 a night.)

Preparing for and attending the special township board meeting at which Harriet Ford was appointed Township Clerk took 5.25 hours. Not quite $1,000 for the day’s work. Add the extra quarter hour for reviewing the March 11th closed session minutes and it gets really close, however.

And, it looks like someone other than I file Freedom of Information requests. I see one for General Assistance and Emergency Assistance that took three-fourths of an hour on two different days.

Getting ready for the new township clerk to take office took over a half an hour. At least it looks like more than a half an hour was billed.

The Annual Town Meeting appears commingled in a bill notation with Town Clerk research. As with the phone call with a Trustee on the first page of this “Corporate” section of the bill, the person asking the questions is unnamed.

Besides the almost $1,000 related to the Special Township Board Meeting on March 23rd, the final entry for 3.5 hours ($647) to prepare for and attend another Special Meeting on March 30th, plus meeting with Trustee Betty Zirk concerning “pending litigation” is next highest on this last page of the Corporate billing.

Also appearing for the first time are legal expenses related to property acquisition. The identity of the property is unclear. Ancel Glink attorney Paula V. Randall spent two hours reviewing file materials, conferring with Fender and looking at “contractual documents.”

Total for “Corporate?”

$8,343.75.

Five attorneys. 45.75 hours, all documented in quarter hour increments.

The final page of the "Corporate" section of Ancel Glink's bill for March.

In addition, there are photocopy bills and fees for filing pleadings for lawsuits involving Linda Moore, which would seem to be better placed in the separate billing for “Linda Moore v. Grafton Township.” The total for these extras is $334.44, making a grand subtotal of $8,678.19.

= = = = =

Although a videographer has been hired by the Township Trustees, I cannot find his work on the internet.

David Moore’s videos, on the other hand, can be found here.