DAVID HANKS- 2016 SAUK VILLAGER PERSON OF THE YEAR

SAUK VILLAGER PERSON OF THE YEAR! This award is established to honor a person who has made a significant impact to or for the Village. Just as Time Magazine had honored Adolf Hitler and Joe Stalin in 1938 and 1939, respectively and most recently named Donald Trump for 2016 as their persons of the year, I choose David Hanks as the Sauk Villager's Person of the Year 2016. David Hanks' announcement in September to retire from politics may be the most significant single impact to the Village’s future!

This announcement was the biggest and most historic announcement of the year in Sauk Village and was cautiously and hopefully expected by many. (CLICK HERE to see Video)  (CLICK HERE- to read the story) It could be the impetus for voters to bring to an end the Village's continued political turmoil which began back in May, 2009. 

Hanks fell into the office of mayor on the heels of Lewis Towers' disgraceful resignation on November 8, 2012.  In Towers' wake, Towers left a trail of financial woe; leaving over $1,000,000 in unpaid bills in addition to a General Fund Deficit totaling over $1.2 million. Credit is to be given to the then sitting Board of Trustees who were diligent in preventing Towers from illegally using the $3 million balance in the water fund.  David Hanks and the Trustees that support him, however, have managed  to erase that $3 million reserve by voting for the same illegal usage of the water fund that they were so diligent in preventing Towers from doing.  As a result, this lame duck Mayor will likely leave office with over $1.7 million owed to the water fund, in addition to over  $1 million in unpaid bills. 

Hanks financial incompetence was further exacerbated when he appointed his staunchest trustee supporter, Rosie Williams to the position of Finance Committee Chair, after two of his Trustees loss their re-election bids in 2015.  Hanks, with the help and guidance of Trustee Rosie Williams, have been using water fund revenues to pay for expenses unrelated to water, causing an even greater fund balance deficit of nearly $1.7 million today!

The Village has been on a steady decline since 2013 because Hanks has had full control of the Board of Trustees and they have historically voted in lock step for every major decision that affects the Village. Even with Hanks' appointments of a Village Administrator, an assistant for the Administrator, his Finance Director and appointing him an assistant, with all this manpower, the village should have expected a vast improvement over its finances.  Instead, the Village's financial staus is on the brink of insolvency!

The Hanks' legacy will be marred by other questionable and scandalous events; too many and too big to mention here.

But today Hanks gets the honor of being 2016 Sauk Villager's Person of the Year for announcing he would retire from politics and more importantly, for keeping his word!

Past Honorees:
Click the links below to read those stories

2015 - Senior Pastor Rev Melody Seaton, Grace UCC

2014 - Dr. Donna Leak Superintendent 168

2013 - Derrick Burgess, Village Trustee

2012 - Alan Stoffregen, Fire Chief

2011 - Robert Chavez, Sr., Village Trustee

VILLAGE CLERK DEBBIE WILLIAMS DOES ILLEGAL "DO OVER"

SAUK VILLAGE |  Anytime there is a simultaneous filing of nomination papers for the offices of Mayor, Village Clerk and Village Trustee there is a lottery to determine ballot position.  This lottery was called in accordance with the law for 1pm Wednesday, December 28th following proper notice to the candidates and to the public of the event.

At I pm on Wednesday, December 28th, the lottery to determine candidates' positions on the ballot was held.  The offices of Mayor, Village Clerk and the first position of Trustee were duly executed according to election guidelines.  

What happened next, defied past precedence and what is established as a guideline in the Candidate’s Guide published by the State of Illinois. Village Clerk Debra Williams, after drawing Rodrick Grant’s name for the first ballot position for Village Trustee, decided to "assign" numbers for ballot positions 2 through 4.  Williams claimed that each of the candidates who filed at 8am was given a piece of paper with a number on it and that will be how they will appear on the ballot.  Trustee candidate and former Village Clerk Beth Zupon openly objected.  I don’t believe that’s right, Debbie.  You're supposed to continue drawing for as many positions as had candidates at 8 am that first filing morning,” Zupon said. .  Williams said that was the way that she understood it to be done and said she would "check" with the Village’s Attorney and if there was a problem she would “let us know”.

Williams contacted Zupon later that afternoon via telephone that she was admitted to Zupon that she had “incorrectly conducted the Trustee lottery and she wanted to "redo” the Trustee lottery at 5pm at Village Hall.  Please note that Village Hall is closed at 5pm and no public notices were posted or given.  According to Zupon she conveyed to Williams that she felt that Grant should retain the first position since his name was drawn at the earlier lottery, during her phone conversation with Williams said she agreed with Zupon.

When the candidates arrived at Village Hall at 5pm for the “do-over” lottery, for which no public notice was given nor any official notice to all candidates that were present at the 1pm lottery, Clerk Williams apparently "changed" her mind and conducted an entirely new lottery for the ballot position claiming that it was in accordance with approved Illinois State Board of Elections process.   Williams re-pulled for the first ballot position for Trustee displacing Rodrick Grant from the first ballot spot.  Grant and Zupon objected to no avail.  A candidate who filed Williams’s nomination papers was pulled for first ballot position.  

Grant indicated late Wednesday that he will file a formal objection with election authorities as he was the candidate who drew first ballot position at the legally constituted lottery drawing.

We will provide updates as they are received.

FEDERAL INVESTIGATION: HAS THE VILLAGE MISAPPROPRIATED GRANT MONEY? PAY TO PLAY?

ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES DETERMINATION- VILLAGE VIOLATED LAW... AGAIN!

SAUK VILLAGE | The Illinois Attorney General has once again issued a determination that the Village has violated the Freedom of Information Act.

A request through the Freedom of Information Act for documents was made to the Village on May 11, 2016 for documents pertaining to a grant the Village received from the Illinois Public Risk Fund to purchase bullet proof vests for members of the Sauk Village Police Department.  We requested “all receipts, invoices, purchase order/requisitions, communication and correspondence showing the use and expenditure of these funds from said grant”.

On June, 2, 2016, the Village finally responded and furnished a one-page accounting which appeared to be an account ledger.  The Illinois Attorney General determined that the Village violated the Act because it did not respond to the request nor did it ask for additional time to complete the request as the law states.

On July 7^th the Village submitted a response to our Request for Review to the Attorney General’s office.  The Village stated that Mohan Rao, the Village’s Finance Director, is the “record keeper for grant materials”.  In the Village’s response they provided additional information that they submitted to the Attorney General in confidence and the Attorney General therefore could not provide us with copies of that confidential “information”.

Our response to the Village at that time was that the Village did not deny they received the grant and therefore it should maintain additional records related to its receipt and expenditure.

The Illinois Attorney General’s office determined that the Village violated the Freedom of Information Act because their response was “untimely” that it did not conduct a “reasonable search” for the documents we had requested. 

The Village’s official response was that the Village Finance Director “cannot locate the records, nor the specific measures the Finance Director took to search for them.”  Additionally the Illinois Attorney General stated that the confidential correspondence with the Village Attorney “does not adequately describe the scope of the search…”.  According to the Attorney General “The records related to a State grant recently received by the Village, and it appears likely that additional records exist regarding the application, award and expenditure.”

It appears that the Village has once again "lost" pertinent records regarding the details of the grant.  Accordingly we have reported this information to higher authorities.

The Illinois Attorney General had issued a rare binding opinion ordering the Village of Sauk Village to turn over “all documents” we requested with respect to Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter Rosie Williams’ “personal trip” to Washington DC, which we have referred to as the Travelgate Scandal. ***CLICK HERE TO VIEW BINDING OPINION*** The Williams duo had used the Village’s website and Village resources to solicit “donations” from Village vendors, yet the Williams duo claimed “this was a personal trip”.  Both Debbie Williams and Rosie Williams spoke at a Building One America Summit in Washington DC in July, 2013.  Village vendor Pat Couch, now a Police and Fire Commissioner was appointed shortly after the trip to the Police and Fire Pension Board which may have been a “quid pro quo” or “this for that” or more commonly referred to as “pay to play”.  After the documents were finally disclosed two years later, it revealed that Couch actually paid for the dynamic duo's, Debbie and Rosie Williams, airfare to fly to Washington DC for this “personal trip”.  Couch actually attended this conference with the Williamses.  No documents were provided showing that Debbie and Rosie Williams reimbursed Couch for her money.

The Village Administration, supported by Rosie Williams and the votes she cast, has established a pattern of blocking the public’s access to documents and overall transparency.  The Village sued the Attorney General in order to block production of the documents concerning the “Travelgate” scandal.  Hanks and the Williamses spent thousands of tax dollars in their failed attempts to block the production of these documents.  

It is only due to the persistence of information can we find the answers we seek from this administration.  The big question for Sauk Village residents is WHY? WHY CAN'T INFORMATION BE FORTHCOMING WITHOUT BEING MADE TO DO SO?

For more information on Travelgate ***CLICK HERE***