Supervisor Linda Moore
Attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer
Say anything you want about Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore’s attorney John Nelson, but he writes an entertaining brief.
Over the next couple of days, I’ll go share his rebuttal with you.
The first part addresses Moore’s “right to terminate the township attorney.”
It’s based on the off-quoted,
“the power to hire is the power to fire.”
(Makowicz v. County of Macon, 68 Ill.app.3rd 322, 385 N.E.2nd, 917, 919, 24 Ill.Dec. 776, 778 (4th Dist., 1979)
Nelson draws the analogy the President and the Attorney General.
“While neither side wishes to equate it status with that of the President and Attorney General, the President has the absolute right to terminate his Attorney General without the advice and consent of the United States Senate, which is required for appointment.
“By the same token the Defendant certainly cannot claim to be held in a more secure and lofty position than the Attorney General in terms of its appointment.”
Later,
“Logically, there must be some McHenry County attorney, perhaps even one living in Grafton Township, who would have the patience, experience and wisdom to relate to both sides. In the alternative, both sides would apply to the court for conflict counsels whose reasonable fees would be set by the court, and in relatively short order, and at a relatively palatable cost, the issues between the sides affecting the government of Grafton township.
“Because of the position taken by defendant what has resulted in a knock-down drag out battle, figuratively and physically between the parties.
“The defendant has engaged in a deliberate course of exaggeration, magnification, and selective interpretation of the township code and attendant cases interpreting the code and as a result has done nothing but fuel a fire of anger and mistrust between the parties…
“This Court should find as a matter of law that not only does Supervisor Moore have the authority to terminate the township attorney, she has effectively done so. Thy then may serve the trustees at a reasonable fee approved by the court.”
More tomorrow.
So what is Nelson’s “reasonable fee”, and who is going to be stuck with that? Will Linda Moore pay it, or will the taxpayers? Since Linda brought this ridiculous case forth, she is at fault for all the financial burden that it has placed on the taxpayers of Grafton Township.
Cal, Please link to the entire document.
I think McHenry County Blog is the only place it will appear online. I can’t find the Trustee’s paperwork. If someone wants to email me a copy from which I can cut and paste, I might find time to share similarly.