LtoR: Housing Commissioners Heidi Parker, Chairperson Gary Holcomb and Commissioner Sharon Nowak |
SAUK VILLAGE- Attorney General Lisa
Madigan’s office is out to make sure that local governmental bodies are not
hiding behind closed doors when they should be discussing matters before the
public in open sessions. Sauk Village has been on the Attorney General’s
radar screen lately, most recently for the so called Travelgate Scandal
involving a Freedom of Information Act request with Village Clerk Debbie
Williams and her daughter Trustee Rosie Williams.
In addition, Gary
Holcomb, who is chairman of the Sauk Village Housing Commission and also a member
of the McConathy Public Library Board, is under intense scrutiny by the
Illinois Attorney General’s office for possibly violating the Illinois Open
Meetings Act.
The Sauk Villager
News filed a request for review to the Illinois Attorney General’s office
claiming that the Housing Commission violated the Open Meetings Act by holding
a closed session meeting on September 28th during a special meeting held on a
Sunday when Village Hall is typically closed called to discuss matters that are
not covered under said Act. Once again,
the Village of Sauk Village has not complied with the Attorney General’s
request for information that would either refute the allegations made or
support the purpose of the closed session meeting.
The Attorney General’s office has extended their time to make a determination by an additional 21 days so they can issue a Binding Opinion regarding the matter. Subsequently, a final determination by the Attorney General’s office will be made on or before December 30th according to correspondence sent to the Village and to the Sauk Villager News by the Attorney General.
Holcomb has been the
source of criticism by residents multiple times this year. During the summer, while executing a Housing
Commission initiative to clean up vacant properties in Sauk Village, Holcomb publicly
displayed on Facebook copies of a family’s State identification and Social
Security cards that he found in the rubble of a vacant property. Instead of properly disposing the
information, Holcomb chose to openly share the family’s identity on a Facebook
page he is known to control. Some
believe that Holcomb has also overstepped his authority as a Housing
Commissioner by entering into contractor agreements with residents for grass
mowing even though the Commission had neither the available funds for payment
nor the approval of the Village Board of Trustees to promise such payment. This action put the Village of Sauk Village
in a precarious position and the Village was forced to withdraw $26,000 of unbudgeted
money from various funds in order to honor Holcomb’s contractor agreements.
Holcomb previously served as a Commissioner on the Village's Housing Authority, which was disbanded, but resigned in 1996 during a scandal and involving the Authorities handling of a Community Development Block Grant. The Village was suspended from the CDGB program as a penalty for several years.
Former Housing
Commissioner Larry Stewart, was removed from the Commission said that the
commission is headed down a wrong path. “There
was a reason that I was removed because I ask too many questions and I don’t
follow blindly. They can say it was
because I didn’t live in Sauk Village but we know that’s just bull. I live here I vote here and I’m not going
anywhere” Stewart said. Holcomb said in a published report last year "I hand-picked my commission...I don't do anything by myself" Holcomb said. "We're all longtime residents and want to see Sauk Village return to what it used to be." Holcomb also said. "The problem is we can't bring it back to what it was, we've got to move forward" Stewart said. Stewart said he was singled out because of politics.
According to Illinois State
Statute (775 ILCS 5/1-101 et seq; 65 ILCS 5/11-11/1-1; and 720 ILCS 590/0.01 et
seq), Housing Commissions are only permitted under Illinois law to enforce the
Fair Housing Act and settle matters of discrimination in housing. Some residents, and former Commissioner Stewart, contend that the Sauk Village Housing
Commission is acting outside of these guidelines and is illegally operating as
a Housing Authority. In fact many
residents point out that Mayor David Hanks has referred to the “Housing
Commission” repeatedly as the “Housing Authority”. These residents also believe
that a formal investigation is warranted.
Violations of the Open
Meetings Act can result in a monetary penalty for each of the Commissioners who
may have violated the Act and also can carry a prison term as well.
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