DEBBIE WILLIAMS CHAOS, CONTROVERSY AND CRITICISM- Hurting Sauk Village

Just who is this Trustee Debra “Debbie” Williams that has Sauk Village residents angry and raging mad?   Just who is this power hungry, glory seeking nemesis of Sauk Village?  Her mouth says she just wants “peace” for Sauk Village and that everyone should sing Kumbaya, But her historical actions in Sauk Village clearly indicate all to the contrary.  The acronym she touts is “P.E.A.C.E.” but what we hear from a good number of people is that she "practices evil and chaos everyday". They tell us that this controversial and political hot mess is going about town slamming the Mayor’s name, giving her opinion about his ability to run the Village and telling people why she should be Mayor!

Really, Sauk Village?  What monster have you unleashed on the good people of this village?  Have you given up on yourselves?  Your dismal voter turnout of only 382 votes, a mere 4.6% of the electorate in 2019, surely confirms this.  Even so, a win, no matter how sorry, was good enough in Debbie’s book.  Well, hopefully we can give you some food for thought before you repeat yet a third time of this fatal mistake and the survival of our Village.  

(This is the second in a series of expose articles that we will publish so stay tuned as the drama unfolds).  

DEBBIE WILLIAMS BRINGS CHAOS, CONTROVERSY AND CRITICISM TO VILLAGE HALL?

When Debbie Williams was elected Village Clerk in 2009 she was boisterous, opinionated and a professional for creating a hostile environment for others.  So, why wouldn’t her return to Village Hall in 2019 following her election as Trustee be any different? 

Racial tensions and division always seem to surround Williams in the past just as it does today.  It was so bad that Williams was named in a complaint filed in 2012 with the Illinois Human Rights Commission by the former Village Administrator Henrietta Turner, an African-American. (Source NWITimes)  Turner accused Debbie Williams of using racial slurs including being called the “N-word” against her and making the statement “you people steal” according to the filed complaint and published reports.  Turner who is African-American found her position “eliminated” and out of a job in November, 2012. 

Racial tensions and division are not Debbie Williams’ only forte, everything she touches seems to turn into a scandal. Here are a few examples;  In July, 2013 Debbie Williams, her daughter, who was then a Trustee and one of their politically motivated friends took a “business” trip to Washington, D.C. to represent Sauk Village. A Freedom of Information Act request sought documents at that time seeking just who paid for this “personal trip”.  It took several years for the Illinois Attorney General to complete its investigation and finally issue a binding opinion ordering Williams to provide all documents as they were declared “public documents”.  Williams and the Village at that time then turned around and sued the Illinois Attorney General in an attempt to block production of those documents, costing the Village taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to cover up her scandal.

The documents showed that Debbie Williams received a check written out in her name, not payable to the Village, to pay for her “personal trip” to Washington. (This begs the questions did Debbie Williams violate 18 U.S.C.§1346 the honest services fraud which generally is a scheme to defraud including a scheme to deprive the taxpayers of the right to honest services).  Village Taxpayers then paid tens of thousands to defend Williams and block the production of those documents, clearly incriminated Williams.  Debbie Williams daughter sat on the Village Board at the time and supported these actions and was also a participant on the Trip.  It was also discovered that the friend and political benefactor who went with them to Washington DC also helped “pay for that trip”.  The same friend was soon after appointed to the Police and Fire Commission in what clearly appeared as a “quid pro quo” (this for that).

Later in 2017, former Trustee Francine Anderson filed an objection against Williams for running for re-election as Clerk claiming the money she received from the trip should be repaid to the residents or it should at the very least disqualify Williams from running for re-election for the Village Clerk office.  Williams was represented by a lawyer at the hearing, which generally would costs a candidate thousands of dollars, yet once again Williams did not file the appropriate legal paperwork with the Illinois Board of Elections to properly disclose exactly how she paid for thousands of dollars of legal work to keep her on the ballot or if this was in fact an “in kind” donation.  The Village likewise paid more money in legal fees to keep Williams on the ballot and convene an electoral circus which was clearly bias to keeping Williams on the Ballot.  They won the battle but Debbie Williams lost the confidence of the people of Sauk Village and she lost her re-election bid as every incumbent was swept out of office.         

2019 Brings more CHAOS & CONTROVERSAY

Fast forward to 2019 and Williams and her friends won their seats as Trustees to exact their vengence.  And once again, neither Williams nor any of her running mates ever declared their campaign spending with the Illinois State Board of Elections.  This sure lacks “transparency” which they claimed they have not been getting.  Where did their money come from?

Stay tuned to our third in a series as we continue the history lesson about Debbie Williams and how she is hurting Sauk Village.