Read the following paragraph from Blackman Kallick, which took a look at Metra’s operations under Executive Director Phil Pagano:

The paragraph that stimulated this post.

The key words are “the firm’s ‘monthly invoices lacked sufficient detail to substantiate that contracted services were being performed.'”

Think for a moment about legal bills.  If you haven’t paid many, let me explain that when I was going through my contentious divorce in the mid-1980’s, I had so many legal bills that I stopped keeping track after $100,000.

But, each and every bill was itemized down to the tenth of an hour.  In other words, there was an explanation for every six minutes of services rendered.

I have commented previously on how Grafton Township’s Ancel Glink law firm billed in 15 minute increments.  So, no matter how short the phone call, the taxpayers were billed for 15 minutes of time.

How public officials can allow the taxpayers to pay more than they would when using their own money is beyond me.

So, I’m working my way to Special Prosecutor Henry Tonigan’s bills.

To the best of my knowledge, no one on the McHenry County Board has seen an itemized bill from lawyer Tonigan.

Does he bill in six-minute increments, 15-minute increments, charge the same about every day or what?

Yet pretty much all the county board members vote to pay whatever Judge Gordon Graham says to pay.

“Trust, but verify,” was what President Ronald Reagan used to say when talking about arms control agreements with the Soviet Union.  He said it was a Russian proverb “doveryai, no proveryai.”

When county board members vote to pay Tonigan’s unitmized bills they are trusting, but not verifying.

I think they are forgetting that they are the third co-equal branch of government.

What’s the worst that could happen?

When I get some more details, I’ll write another story.