Lack of Transparency, Wrong Direction and the Water Highlight Town Hall Meeting

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |   Trustee Derrick Burgess hosted his monthly Town Hall Meeting, this time back at Village Hall Wednesday evening.

Village Clerk Debbie Williams filed an inquiry for a possible Open Meetings Act violation, ironically with the Illinois Attorney General's office who the Village has sued over the Travelgate Binding Opinion they issued in October.  The alleged Open Meetings Act violation was "unfounded" Village Attorney Matt Burns said at a board meeting earlier.

About 35 people, including Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donna Leak, School Board Vice President Tammy Jones, Parent Teacher Organization President Jovante Hasty came back to Village Hall as the Town Hall Meetings moved to Rickover over the summer.  "We wanted to move the venue to afford more residents the opportunity to attend which was successful as we had about 95 at a couple of them there" Burgess said.  "We will probably change up the venue again but hosting them at Village Hall is good too." Burgess said following the meeting.

Longtime resident Judy Cast was critical of the administration for the lack of transparency, but complimented some progress made.  "Under the last administration you wouldn't be sitting in a meeting like this" Cast said.  Cast also wants to know how much the Village has spent in legal fees for the Travelgate scandal.  The Village is suing the Illinois Attorney General over the Binding Opinion issued in October which declared that the Village and Village Clerk must turn over all documentation concerning the trip to Washington DC by the Village Clerk her daughter Trustee Rosie Williams and resident and now former Police Pension Board member Patricia Couch.

Larry Stewart, who was removed as Housing Commissioner earlier this year, blasted the Hanks Administration for the lack of direction and the lack of planning.

Marva Campbell-Pruitt criticized the Hanks Administration for the lack of a solid plan and timeline for the water infrastructure improvements.  "We're paying the additional $2.00 per 1000 gallons of water for the repairs but there is no plan in place to justify it" Campbell-Pruitt said.

Dr. Leak addressed Kelvin Jones' questions concerning school children needing text books.  "We want our children to have the latest information not a static text book.  Old text books from 2007 still have George Bush as President" Leak said.  Leak has been working on a multi-year plan with the School Board and hopes one day soon to bring I-Pads to the students of District 168.  There are about 1700 students in district 168 and the district is flush with cash with about $16 million in the bank and zero debt.

Community Activist Bernice Brewer-Houston said residents are still paying for contaminated well water but residents are paying Lake Michigan water prices.  "The Mayor and Trustees are using this money to balance their budget and not putting the money toward repairs to the water mains that are  constantly breaking" Brewer Houston said following the meeting.

"People are tired of paying $300 water bills for this nasty water.  You can't drink it, you can't cook with it.  You have to spend money to treat it, replace corroded fixtures and even after treating it you turn on the faucet and the water still comes out orange.  They got $4.8 million grant for what the Mayor said will free up the village from paying $260,000 per year, but the resident's get no relief" a longtime resident said.  "I'm just disgusted with our Village leaders" she said.

"Residents only get to speak for 3 minutes during Village meetings.  There are no time limits here, I want to hear the concerns of the residents" Burgess said.

Burgess has hosted Town Hall Meetings for the last 6 months and will be taking the month of December off and resuming them in January after the holidays.

Mayor David Hanks and Village Trustee Lynda Washington sat silent during the meeting.  Williams spoke briefly when challenged by a resident.  "I'm speaking as a resident" Williams said.  Williams was accompanied by her husband, who also sits as a Human Relations Commissioner.  Trustee Rosie Williams is the daughter of Debbie Williams but was not present.

Illinois Attorney General seeks info on Housing Commission

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  The Illinois Attorney General has been seeking answers from Village officials since last month.  As of yesterday, Village officials had not responded to the Attorney General's inquiry on a possible violation of the Open Meetings Act.

The Sauk Villager News filed a request for review with the Illinois Attorney General claiming that the Village's Housing Commission may have violated the Open Meetings Act by holding a closed session during a special meeting.  The Open Meetings Act has specific requirements for a public body to hold a closed session meeting.

The Illinois Attorney General was seeking, among other things, an audio recording of the meeting, minutes from the meeting and copies of the agenda.  On the agenda the body was going into closed session to discuss "personnel" and "reports".  (CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE THE ACTUAL LETTER) The Commission does not have any personnel under it's direct supervision and "reports" are not covered for one of the reasons to go into a closed session under the Open Meetings Act.

Gary Holcomb, who serves as the Chairman of the Commission has been circulating nomination petitions to run for Village Trustee in April.  Holcomb has been a loyal supporter of Mayor David Hanks. 

Holcomb caused controversy this past summer by publishing on his social media page and on the Sauk Village Housing Commission page a copy of a resident's state identification card and her son's social security card.  Holcomb was confronted by the Sauk Village Police officials who asked him to take it down, which he later did. 

Holcomb is also at the center of the controversial grass mowing program, where Village officials were forced to borrow $29,660 to pay for mowing service that was not included in the 2014-15 Budget.  Hanks announced earlier this year that the Housing Commission received a grant of $75,000 for mowing vacant homes.  It was recently revealed that the Village was the actual grant recipient not the Housing Commission, however, to date the Village has not received a dime as the entire grant program is under intense scrutiny and is under review.

TRAVELGATE 1 YEAR LATER... ATTORNEY GENERAL "REVIEW" CONTINUES!

DEBBIE WILLIAMS

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  One year ago today the Travelgate Scandal broke in Sauk Village!  As calls for an Ethical Investigation were made following Village Clerk Debbie Williams meltdown during a Village Board meeting July 23, 2013.  Williams, her daughter, Village Trustee Rosie Williams and a senior citizen resident, also a village vendor, attended a Building One America Summit in Washington D.C. funded at a cost of a reported $3,000 by parties whom are still unknown today.

Williams reportedly raised funds to finance her trip using the Village’s website and resources and claimed that this was a “personal trip”.

The Village denied a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain information about the trip in 2013, which led to the Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office issuing a determination that Williams and the Village must turn over all records with respect to the trip and all financial information about the trip.  The Village refused to comply with the Attorney General’s determination. 

A subsequent request was filed with the Village in order to obtain the same information, and the Village again refused to comply responding once again through their law firm.  Another request to the Illinios Attorney General was made to force the enforcement of their office’s previous determination has been made.

 

In a letter sent to Village officials by the Attorney General, they wanted to know under what law the Village has refused to provide the information as requested in light of the previous decision they made.  The Village refused to respond to the Attorney General's letter or provide any documentation in an official response.

The Attorney General’s office is expected to issue their determination in the next few days, or they may request a 30 day extension in order to issue a binding legal opinion. 

Mayor David Hanks attempted to use an old binding opinion of Rolland Burris, then Illinois Attorney General’s office in order to keep Robert Fox out as Chief of Police back in 2011. 

Political friend ally and Housing Commissioner Chairman Gary Holcomb, who had videoed Village meetings during Lewis Towers administration was allegedly asked not to publish the video by Mayor David Hanks because it may cause embarrassment to Williams and the Village.  Holcomb has not published his video but has published countless hours of videos of Village Board meetings under Lewis Towers unedited.  A complete copy of the audio of the July 23, 2013 meeting was requested under the Freedom of Information Act and sent to the Illinois Attorney General along with the request for review. 

 

EDITORIAL NOTE:  The Sauk Village People Looking for Answers Now (P.L.A.N.) now videos all of the meetings and puts out the unedited videos on their Youtube and Facebook pages as a result of Holcomb's actions so that people know what is going on.

TRAVELGATE: ATTORNEY GENERAL DEMANDS VILLAGE CLERK RELEASE ALL RECORDS

VILLAGE CLERK DEBBIE WILLIAMS

By Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE | After a 7 month battle with the Village and their attorneys, the Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office has finally determined that the Village  possessed records responsive to our Freedom of Information Act request from July, 2013.  “The vindication by the Illinois Attorney General shows that this Village Clerk and this Mayor have been anything but open, honest, transparent or accountable to the people” Joseph Wiszowaty states. 

 

Debbie Williams contended during the July 23, 2013 Village Board meeting that her trip to Washington DC to attend the Building One America Summit was a “personal trip” then contradicted herself during the meeting stating she was “representing the people of Sauk Village”.  The Attorney General’s office agreed, this trip was in her capacity as “Village Clerk” and her daughter Rosie Williams' as Village Trustee.  Another attendee, Patricia Couch also attended the conference.  Couch served on the Village’s Ordinance Committee and is also a Village vendor.  Couch has subsequently been named to the Police Pension Board.

 The Attorney General issued a 6 page response  that determined the Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter Rosie Williams’ trip to Washington D.C. was “official village business”.  The letter also determines that “the Village of Sauk Village, including the Village Clerk, are subject to public records under FOIA.  This office furthers concludes that the Village did not conduct a reasonable search for those records” the Attorney General stated.

  (***CLICK HERE*** TO VIEW ENTIRE LETTER)

The Attorney General in their determination stated ”the Village Clerk’s records and any other records in possession of the Village concerning the summit – including records related to the funding of the trip – are “public records” under the definition of that term in section 2(c) of FOIA” the Attorney General stated.

 

VILLAGE CLERK DEBBIE WILLIAMS AND DAUGHTER
VILLAGE TRUSTEE ROSIE WILLIAMS

“This office twice asked the Village to describe the measures it took to search for responsive records, and the only substantive information provided was that the mayor indicated that the Village does not possess any responsive records, that the Village Clerk was not required to submit documentation concerning the trip, and that the records department reported that it does not possess records of the Village Clerk’s travel expenses, itinerary, or schedule” the Attorney General states in their determination.  The Attorney General also determined that the Village has not demonstrated that it searched any recordkeeping systems likely to contain responsive records such as the Village Clerk’s e-mail account or paper correspondence.

“The Village Clerk publicly stated that she submitted a draft of her presentation to other Village officials, yet the Village’s response to this office did not account for that draft or communications related to the draft.  Likewise, it is unclear whether the Village possesses the invitation that it acknowledges that the Village Clerk received for the summit” The Attorney General states.

The Village Attorneys billed 5.5 hours for legal fees for an “investigation” it launched into the Travelgate scandal.  The Village in their response to the FOIA requested provided a 1 page spreadsheet for their legal fees.  The Attorney General states “it also appears likely that the investigation generated records that the Village has neither provided to Mr. Wiszowaty nor denied in accordance with section 9(a) of FOIA.”  The determination goes on to state that any investigation that the Village’s attorney conducted are “public records” under the Act.

 

The Attorney General in their determination states “The Village has not demonstrated that it conducted a reasonable search for responsive records, and the available information strongly suggests that such records may be in the Village’s possession.  Accordingly, this office directs the Village to search all recordkeeping systems – including the Village Clerk’s records – that are likely to contain responsive information concerning the summit and to provide those records to Mr. Wiszowaty”.

 

It still has not been determined how much money was raised during Debbie and Rosie Williams fundraising efforts to fund the trip to the Building One America Summit in July, 2013, but we are continuing to press this issue to determine how much money was raised, from who, and how much the total expenses were for this “official village business”.   

“I will not let up on this until we have all the answers.  Debbie Williams, Rosie Williams and David Hanks  are not above the law and are subject to the same rules and laws we all must follow” Wiszowaty states.  “Residents must remain vigilant and must hold their elected officials accountable.  This is taxpayer money, these are vendors for the taxpayers, this is not the personal piggy bank for government officials and vendors should not be shaken down or hit up for ‘donations’ which smells of impropriety for those who sit in positions of authority.  It gives a bad perception of Sauk Village when vendors are routinely asked to “donate” for whatever causes and reeks of pay to play politics” Wiszowaty states.

TRAVELGATE INQUIRY DELAYED - ATTORNEY GENERAL EXPECTED TO RESPOND

Rosie Williams and Debbie Williams

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  Staffing changes have delayed the Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office's review of two denials of Freedom of Information Act requests made to the Village.

The Sauk Villager News had requested information into Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter Village Trustee Rosie Williams' trip to Washington D.C. to attend a private organization's conference.   The Williams' allegedly solicited donations on the Village of Sauk Village's official website and from Village vendors according to documents submitted to the Illinois Attorney General.

Debbie Williams claimed that this was a "personal trip" and not official village business, however, Williams made an official report of her trip during a Village Board meeting and aired video on the Village's official website.

Debbie Williams refused to turn over any information "without the Village attorney" telling her to do so.  Village Attorney Michael McGrath allegedly "investigated" the Village Clerk Debbie Williams and Village Trustee Rosie Williams' "personal trip" and determined that there was no impropriety.  The Village received a bill from the attorney's investigation but no findings were apparently provided in writing to the village.

Following the Village's denial of the Freedom of Information Act request, the Sauk Villager News submitted a request for a Public Access Counselor to review the village's denial.

The Attorney General was contacted last week and the attorney originally handling the matter had resigned.  As a result a new attorney has been assigned to the matter according to the Attorney General's spokesperson.

The Attorney General's office has been asked to give a "Binding Opinion" and finding that the Village violated the Freedom of Information Act and to compel the Village to provide the information the village did not originally provide which included a list of donors and amounts "donated" to fund the trip made by the Debbie Williams and Rosie Williams and Police and Fire Pension Board member Pat Couch.

VILLAGE GOING $4.8 MILLION MORE IN DEBT

By Joseph Wiszowaty

SAUK VILLAGE |  The Village will soon be getting a $4.8 million loan from the State of Illinois to install air strippers to treat the contaminated drinking water.

Well # 3 on the village’s north side of town adjacent to the YRC (Roadway) property has been shut down since 2009 when a known carcinogen vinyl chloride was detected in the village’s drinking water at well #3.  This prompted action by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and litigation brought by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office to force the village to take action to clean up the drinking water and get well #3 back up and running or connect to another source.

Mayor David Hanks announced during his report Tuesday night that the village “signed all the paperwork Friday” for a loan of $4.868,900 in the form of a loan from the State of Illinois at a fixed rate of 1.9%.  The Village will proceed with the contract which has already been awarded for $4.1 million within 60 days according to Village Engineer Jim Czarnik of Robinson Engineering.  

Village Trustee Lynda Washington, who was once an advocate for Lake Michigan water,  was so excited about the $4.1 million dollar loan she began clapping stating “when I borrow money from people I want what I want right there” prompting Trustee Derrick Burgess to remind Washington “you’ve got to pay the money back though” eliciting some chuckles. 

After well #3 is complete the village will complete the installation of the permanent air stripping towers and new iron removal system for wells #1 and #2 at the location on Sauk Trail according to Czarnik.

In other business the residents learned there has been more money moving around village hall after Burgess questioned Hanks on the matter.  Residents discovered that Hanks authorized borrowing  borrowed an additional $140,000-$150,000 from either the “water fund or other funds” so that the Village could make payroll according to Hanks.  There was no action by the Village Board on the transferring and borrowing of the funds and Hanks was not clear on the exact amount or which funds these were borrowed.   According to Hanks the Village will repay these funds in addition to the $449,000 previously borrowed when tax revenues come in sometime in March.

Burgess also advised the Village Board that he had spoken with United State Senator Dick Durbin during his visit that the Village needed some financial assistance with the water situation.  Burgess reminded Durbin that former Congressman Jesse Jackson obtained federal funds funds for neighboring Ford Heights to obtain Lake Michigan water and they were not facing a contamination threat to their drinking water.  Durbin remained noncommittal according to Burgess but was well aware of the Village’s water plight because of news media reports.

EDITORIAL NOTE:  This would be the village’s largest water improvement project since 1988 when the Village installed the Iron Removal System and issued bonds for a total of $1.2 million (about $2.3 million in today's dollars when adjusted for inflation) following a referendum which passed November 4,  1986, by  1010 yes to 470 no.

In March, 2012 the residents of Sauk Village went to the polls and voted to abandon the 55 year old wells in favor of bringing Lake Michigan Water to the Village by 740 yes and 670 no.  In fact 1410 voters came out to the polls that day, only 50 more voted in the 2013 mayoral race in Sauk Village.

The residents of Sauk Village did not approve any referendum on Hanks’ water improvement plan and whether it should have included a upgrade to the iron removal system.  The plan was presented to Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office who agreed with it but stated that the Village needs to find a long-term alternative to their well water in the Consent Decree.

According to Robinson Engineering’s leak detection study,  the water loss has decreased from nearly 50% to some 20% according to Czarnik during a previous village board meeting.

Some residents have privately filed a class action lawsuit against YRC(Roadway) for contaminating the Village’s water supply.  A similar lawsuit filed against the Village of Sauk Village was dismissed in 2013.


Original material copyright 2014 Sauk Villager News; all rights reserved.

Attorney General getting busy in Sauk Village

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  A third Freedom of Information Act request to Sauk Village is under review by the Illinois Attorney General's office because the Village has denied yet another requests. 

A request was denied as "burdensome" by the Village for criminal statistics.  The denial did not follow State law under 5 ILCS 140 et seq so this reporter filed a request for review to the Illinois Attorney General's office.

Now the "burdensome" work begins for the Village who must now provide a response to the Illinois  Attorney General's office.  In what was clearly not a "form letter" issued by the Attorney General's office as Village Attorney Michael McGrath said last week, the village has 7 days to provide answers and material to their office.

The Attorney General's office responded back to the village's denial requesting many answers to many things, particularly how the Village keeps such information and what software is used and if they have a computer to pull the information together.  Further the Attorney General wanted to know why the village felt that providing such information was "burdensome" and to provide any previoius requests showing that these were duplicate and not new requests. 

The Illinois Attorney General will issue a decision on this third separate denial and determine if the village has violated the Freedom of Information Act for failing to provide information that is not exempt under the law (5 ILCS 140 et seq). 

The Village has denied a request into the "Travelgate" matter where Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter, Village Trustee Rosie Williams solicited money from vendors for what they called a "personal trip" to Washington D.C.   A final 6 page response was sent in to the Attorney's General office this week in response to the Village's letter where the Village Attorney stated that they have information that was requested but failed to provide it.  This reporter is asking in the response to find the village violated the Act based on the Village's response and other facts.

The Village denied requests for information on an account opened at US Bank by the Village's Public Relations Committee.  The account is reportedly for the Committee's activities and Village Trustee Rosie Williams is the signer on the account.  The village failed to provide information about the account and this was also sent to the Illinois Attorney General for review under the Freedom of Information Act.  To date the Village has not responded on this matter and the Illinois Attorney General will be asked to find the village in violation of the Act.

EDITORIAL NOTE:  The Village has been trying to put a "hit list" or report who is requesting information and how much it cost the village to answer such requests.  A little known fact is that people can request information anonymously under 5 ILCS 140 et seq. and that many have begun doing so in Lisle Illinois because of the "hit list" that they put out. 

If the Village would simply not worry about who is getting what and what they need it for and gave the public information then there would be no drama!  People have a right to know what is going on in their community.  When Community leaders hide behind lawyers in an attempt to block information they are not serving the PUBLIC interest but thei SELF INTEREST! 

Now the village is going to complain because they have to spend MORE TIME answering to the Illinios Attorney General when they simply could have answered the "burdensome" requests.  Now they are going to be burdened with requests and timelines by the Illinois Attorney General who is the enforcer of the Freedom of Information Act.

NOTE TO SAUK VILLAGE why do you want to play with the Attorney General's office, they will ALWAYS be for FULL DISCLOSURE as being OPEN, HONEST and TRANSPARENT which is what government should always be! 

Stop playing the STUPID card and start being responsible with the taxpayers' money!

It seems "Dysfunction Junction" is alive and well at Village Hall!

Debbie Williams, Village Clerk
custodian of all village records

ATTORNEY GENERAL REVIEWING ANOTHER FOIA DENIAL

by Joseph Wiszowaty

SAUK VILLAGE |  Another Freedom of Information Act request to Sauk Village has been referred to the office of Illinios Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office.

A request for information pertaining to the financial accounts for the village's Public Relations Committee was made in August of this year by this reporter.  Village Trustee Rosie Williams has chaired the Public Relations Committee for a number of years.  In the request there were several specific items that were requested that the village failed to provide.  Because the Village failed to provide the specific parts of the request the failure is considered a "denial" under 5 ILCS 140/ 1 et seq.  As a result of the village's "denial" of the request an appeal was made to the Illinois Attorney General in order to obtain the information originally requested.

The Attorney General can fine the village for failing to compy with the Act and can issue an order to compel the Village to respond to the FOIA request.  The Attorney General can also go to court to enforce its order as provided under the Act.

This is the second such appeal made in less than 30 days to the Illinois Attorney General for denial of information made under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Attorney General's office issued a correspondence to the Village of Sauk Village today (October 7, 2013 in which they state "We have determined that further inquiry into this matter is necesary to confirm that the Village has complied with its obligation under FOIA...."

The Village now has 7 days in order to respond to the Attorney General and to provide all necessary documentation requested.  The Attorney General will make a determination as to the Village's compliance with the Act.

logo by- Joseph Wiszowaty

WATER PROBLEMS GET WORSE

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  It seems not so long ago that the village was giving away "free water" to residents under a Consent Decree from the Illinois Attorny General Lisa Madigan's office.  That was back in July, 2012.  Fast forward to today, the Village is still using the temporary Air Strippers on well #1 and #2 on Sauk Trail and well #3 is still shut down.

The Village is required to get well #3, which is located near Roadway's trucking terminal on the Village's north side of town, back on line or provide for an emergency connection.  The reason it was taken offline in 2009, was because the levels of vinyl chloride have steadily increased.  From 2009 to 2012 vinyl chloride levels began increasing to a point where the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency stepped in to force Sauk Village's hand.

Sauk Village voters approved a referendum to increase water rates, abandon the Village's 56 year old wells and go to Lake Michigan water.  The problem with that is the Village's water loss was too excessive.  Village Engineer Jim Czarnik of Robinson Engineering said at Tuesday's meeting the Village's water loss has been reduced to about 20% from a high of about 40% according to reports in 2012.

Complicating the Village's water problems now is the Village has yet to secure the $5.3 million from the State of Illinois for the water improvements which included installing permanent air strippers at Wells #3, #1 and #2. Additionally, plans called for replacing the filtration media for the village's aging iron removal system. The iron removal system went on line in 1988 and the filtration media has never been replaced.

According to the water improvement plan  (CLICK HERE TO VIEW PRESENTATION), which was discussed before the April, 2013 election, 
the plan was submitted to the IEPA for approval. The project was suppose to have gone out for bid in July, 2013 and construction was to have been underway in September of this year and completed by September of 2014. At a meeting Mayor David Hanks said that the Village was approved for the low interest loan, however, funds have not yet entered the Village's coffers and the Village's water crisis continues.

It is uncertain, if the village's continued borrowing from the water fund to meet payroll has caused concern with the powers at the State level. Calls to the Gary Bingenheimer of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency were not returned late Friday night.  Vinyl Chloride levels remain high in all three village wells according to the IEPA website, however, the temporary air strippers process appears to be removing the carcinogen before it goes into the distribution system.

Village Board 2012 during the Water Crisis in "Crisis" mode

Fire Chief Al Stoffregen passing out bottled water-Courtesy ABC-7 Chicago

Resident wants answers during a Village meeting- 2012



 

A resident asking questions during a Public Hearing held by the IEPA- 2012



Resident Ed Sullivan discussing the water crisis with other residents- 2012

A glass of water from the tap in Sauk Village- 2012

ATTORNEY GENERAL SEEKS INFORMATION ON TRAVELGATE SCANDAL

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has determined that "further inquiry" is warranted into the Village's denial of a Freedom of Information Act requested filed by Joseph Wiszowaty (this reporter) for information regarding Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter Village Trustee Rosie Williams' trip to Washington D.C.

The FOIA request originally was a four-part request for information requesting among other things documents regarding the Building One America Summit, including attorney fees for the investigation conducted by the Village's attorney, donations and sponsorships.  The Village denied the request in a letter from the Village Attorney Michael McGrath on August 22nd.

The Attorney's General office responded in their letter stating "We have determined that further inquiry into this matter is necessary to confirm the Village has complied with its obligations under FOIA.  Please provide to this office a written explanation of how the Village searched for responsive records".

In the request filed with the Attorney's General office the contradictions are pointed out including Debbie Williams stating at a public meeting on July 23 that this was "a personal trip" then later stating that she was asked to represent the Village of Sauk Village.   Debbie Williams also stated at the same meeting "until the Village Attorney tells me I have to provide the information I will not" she said.

The Attorney General is now seeking that very information that Williams refused to provide as the Village did not state that the information was "exempt".

Emails to Village Clerk Debbie Williams went unanswered.