VILLAGE OFFICIALS FILE FALSE TREASURER'S REPORT

SAUK VILLAGE |  Village officials may have falsified the Village's Treasurer's Report according to official Village records.  Village Clerk Debbie Williams certified the Village's Treasurer's Report which apparently was void of two individuals who have been on the Village's payroll since 2015.

JW Fairman and his assistant former Northlake Mayor Reid Paxson are nowhere on the most current year's Treasurer's Reports.  Fairman and his consultant company JW Fairman LLC or perhaps JW Fairman LTD were hired by Mayor David Hanks in the wake of the Village election in 2015 during the lame-duck session.  Fairman or his consultant company are reported earning $100,000 per year while his part-time "assistant" is paid $25,000 per year.  Fairman, his company and Paxson are not found on the most recent Treasurer's Report.  "All employees and vendors" earning over $25,000 are required to be listed on the report according to Illinois law.

 

Fairman receives a state and Cook County pension, and it is unclear if his "full-time" employment with Sauk Village would impact those pensions and if the omission was intentional.  Fairman was a prison administrator for Cook County jail and retired.  What is clear is that village officials did not list Fairman and Paxson on the Treasurer's report, yet all other Village employees, contractors and vendors are listed out on the report (***CLICK HERE TO VIEW REPORT***)

Both Hanks and Williams have been criticized by residents and three of the six Village Trustees for the lack of transparency and in 2016 both were admonished with a petition of No Confidence signed by 652 residents.  Williams most recently had her petitions challenged for Village Clerk among many other reasons, because she accepted a check from a village vendor for her so-called "personal trip" to Washington DC in 2013.  Williams said on July 23, 2013 at a Village Board meeting that she paid for the trip with her own money, however, a Freedom of Information Act request clearly showed she did not.  The Electoral Board in January of this year, which included Hanks and her daughter Rosie Williams, voted 2 to 1 to keep Williams on the ballot. 

Williams may still face charges from the Cook County States Attorney for failing to report money she received on her Statement of Economic Interest which is required under Illinois law.

"I do not understand how they keep getting things so wrong" a long-time resident said.  "The Village Treasurer gets indicted and pled guilty to Federal charges and these guys keep getting away with crap like this" they said.

The Village Treasurer, James Griegel appointed by Hanks in May, 2013 was arrested in January, 2016 and later Federal charges were filed against Griegel for embezzlement of Police Pension Funds.  The Village has not had a Treasurer in place doing the job since January, 2016 when Hanks put Griegel on "paid" administrative leave.

***UPDATE*** March 28, 2017:  At Tuesday's meeting JW Fairman's advised the public that we were correct that there was an omission was corrected and the Village has filed an amended Treasurer's Report!  We applaud their effort at Financial transparency in government!  

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

HANKS CLOSES DOWN TRANSPARENCY AS GRAND JURY INVESTIGATES

 SAUK VILLAGE|  Residents will need to get use to less transparency at Village Hall because of Mayor David Hanks' order to the Village Finance Director, Public Works Director, Village Engineer, Village Attorney and Community Development Director not to attend any further Village Board Meetings.

Hanks' move comes despite a Federal Grand Jury apparently hearing matters regarding embezzlement from the Police Pension Fund by current Village Treasurer James Griegel and fraud involving Federal Grants.

"Never before has a Mayor ordered department heads to not attend public meetings and address questions from the Village Board.  What is this mayor trying to hide" Trustee Cecial Tates said.

"So much for Transparency in government " Trustee Derrick Burgess said following the meeting.

Trustees Edward Myers, Lynda Washington and Rosie Williams said nothing about Hanks' action.

"So the Bobble Heads don't speak up for the residents?  Well rest assured the residents will speak up at election time in April" Community Activist Larry Stewart said Tuesday.  "They are out telling people crime is down in Sauk Village, what they aren't telling us is that it is up in Village Hall" Stewart said.

GRIEGEL MAY BE OUT.... SOME SAY FINALLY!

VILLAGE TREASURER JAMES GRIEGEL

SAUK VILLAGE |  James Griegel, age 71 was appointed Village Treasurer by Mayor David Hanks following his election as Mayor in 2013 was indicted by a Will County Grand Jury in January and has been charged in a criminal complaint by a Federal Prosecutor for embezzlement of $21,000 from the Sauk Village Police Pension Fund.

Hanks has publicly stated that the Village did not have the legal authority to remove Griegel as he has only been charged but not convicted of any crime.  At Tuesday’s Village Board meeting, which Hanks was absent, a statement was read in which Hanks apparently has once again “changed his mind”.  “Upon being informed of Mr. Griegel's arrest (Monday, April 25, 2016) by the FBI,  I issued a letter to Mr. Griegel that he was being replaced as the Village Treasurer” the statement said.  Residents have been calling for Griegel's removal since his January arrest and discovery that he allegedly embezzled money from the Police Pension Fund.

Some Trustees wonder why Hanks did not take this action back in January when Griegel was criminally charged and then was indicted by a Will County Grand Jury.

“Why now, and why not in January?  The residents could have saved money by not having to pay Griegel for 3 additional months.  Nothing has changed from January to now, but this is par for the course for this administration.  One really must wonder why?” Trustee Cecial Tates said on Tuesday night following the Village Board meeting.

Griegel is scheduled to appear in a Will County Court House today for his criminal indictment for possession of a controlled substance.  Griegel was arrested by the Steger Police Department on January 4th for possession of a controlled substance (heroine) and admitted that he had “two bags” and used it to pay for sex according to the Police Report.

FORENSIC AUDIT ORDERED BY PENSION FUND FOLLOWING ARREST OF TREASURER

SAUK VILLAGE |  The Sauk Village Police Pension Board met in an emergency meeting yesterday at Village Hall.  Village Treasurer James Griegel, who also sits on the Pension Board was not present for yesterday's meeting.  Griegel was arrested last week for purchasing heroin for sex and later admitted to writing checks from the Pension Fund according to Sauk Village Police Chief Robert Kowalski's statement to the media.  Griegel has been placed on "unpaid administrative leave" according to media reports and no calls for his resignation have come from the Mayor David Hanks.

The Pension Board consists of retired Sauk Village Police Sergeant Ted Sanders, current police members Sergeants Rebecca Sailsbery and Scott Langan and also resident William Bishop along with Griegel.  The Board is separate and autonomous from the Mayor and Village government, however under Illinois law the Village's Treasurer serves on the pension boards. 

Pension Board Members went into a closed session and came back out voting to approve a forensic audit of the entire Pension Fund according to Pension Board Attorney Cary Collins.  The vote was unanimous.  Sanders, who serves as Board President, will be contacting the auditors for the pension fund, Mulcahy, Pauritsch, Salvador and Co to obtain the costs for the audit.  Sanders will report back to the Pension Board at their regular meeting January 21st.  The Pension Board also voted on a Resolution to remove Griegel from the Pension Board's bank accounts and added Bishop as a signer to the account.

The Village has not been making regular contribution to the pension fund, required under Illinois law.  The Village owes the pension fund over $2 million according to audit reports.  The State of Illinois will begin allowing, this year, Pension Boards to appropriate state monies intended for villages General Funds to make up the shortages owed by villages to their pension funds statewide.  Village's have been balancing their budgets with funds intended for pension funds.

HEROIN, WHORES, EMBEZZLEMENT AND CORRUPTION, BUT NO RESIGNATIONS... YET

JAMES GRIEGEL (left) takes oath
as Treasurer in May, 2013

OPINION EDITORIAL
SAUK VILLAGER NEWS

I have already called for the resignation of David Hanks, and now it’s time for residents to do likewise!  Where is the resignation of James Griegel!  Why hasn't Hanks publicly demanded his resignation, or fired him!  It's time for the outrage!

Why anyone is surprised at the most recent corruption within the David Hanks administration is really beyond me!    David Hanks’ administration has adopted a pattern of behavior which mimics that of his predecessor, former Mayor Lewis Towers, including demoralizing and alienating village board members, village employees while creating an environment that encourages lawsuits by both residents and employees of Sauk Village.  Let’s face it David Hanks began his administration on a lie, saying that he was not going to run for mayor and then “changed his mind” after endorsing another candidate.  His supporters said at the time, he had the right to change his mind and I said he didn’t change his mind he LIED to the people he was elected to serve.  He began his administration on a lie!

The pattern of corruption in the Hanks administration has been the worst in Sauk Village’s history, rivaling the Thomas Ryan scandal some 11 years ago.  Let’s review shall we!  During the last 3 years we have seen a pattern of corruption in Sauk Village including:

 

·         David Hanks lied to the people stating he would not run for Mayor and endorsed another candidate, then “changed his mind” having no intention of keeping his word.  Hanks lost integrity because he showed you cannot trust him or his word.

·         The Travelgate scandal where Village Clerk Debbie Williams and Trustee Rosie Williams fleeced and shook down vendors to pay their way to attend the Building One America Summit claiming this was a personal trip.  The scandal resulted in a binding opinion issued by the Illinois Attorney General declaring the trip was “official business” and all information was subject to the Freedom of Information Act.  The Village sued the Attorney General and later settled the matter after the Village spent some $11,000 to try and block it.

·         Then there was illegal use of Water Funds to pay for the Housing Commission’s lawn mowing program.   Hanks used the Water fund without the knowledge or consent of the Village Board of Trustees to pay for the mowing of grass.

·         David Hanks cancels meetings to avoid answering the public’s questions about his and the actions of the Trustees he controls.  Hanks continues to block the flow of information concerning the Village’s finances including not publishing audits on time, including transferring money like a shell game without the knowledge or approval of the Village Board, issuing immediate checks to pay village vendors without the approval of the Village Board in accordance with Illinois law.  Also, now Hanks wants to block the Village Trustees from even communicating with department heads!

·         Hanks’ own handpicked Treasurer, Jim Griegel, never attended a single Village Board Meeting has not provided any financial reports to the Village Trustees in accordance with Village law, and there still has been no Treasurer’s Report posted in accordance with the State law for the last fiscal year.

·         Hanks’ Village Treasurer Jim Griegel admitted to police that he wrote himself checks illegally out of the Police Pension Fund

·         The Village’s audit report was due to be posted to the Illinois Comptroller’s office in accordance with state law by December 26^th, and today it has yet to be posted.  The Village, because of the negligence of this administration, is accruing fines each day.

·         Hanks spearheaded an ordinance that created a Village Administrator and Public Safety Director and then filled it with J.W. Fairman, a candidate which was provided to him by Odelson and Sterk (the Village’s law firm).  His contract, among other things provides him with a “part-time” administrative assistant, former Northlake Mayor Reid Paxon (Paxon, in 1995 was found guilty of violating a Police Officers civil rights by a Federal Court CLICK LINK TO READ MORE), to the tune of $27,600 annual, a “cash” car allowance of $26,666.67 and a severance package (or “Golden Parachute”).   Fairman  is currently receiving State and County pensions while Reid receives a pension from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.

·         Hanks is paying JW Fairman and Reid Paxon as “independent contractors”, however, IRS Code does not permit an “employee” to be paid as an “independent contractor”.  Also, it appears that the Village, because of these questionable practices, is intentionally circumventing paying into Social Security, Medicare and also the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

·         Employees, who have filed complaints, lawsuits or are union representatives, have been targeted for termination or retaliation by David Hanks. 

·         David Hanks refused to bring back Lisa Gibbons who he summarily placed on “layoff” status, instead hired two less qualified “part-time” employees for Police Records Clerks, which shows his continuation of retaliation.

·         Sauk Village has been awarded several grants for equipment and supplies, many dating back over three years.  The Village has failed to inform the appropriate personnel of the receipt of such grant funds and little or none of these grants were actually spent on equipment or supplies.  The Feds must ask, WHERE DID THIS MONEY GO?

 

Today the pattern of corruption continues!  Village vendors are still shaken down and fleeced; there is no accountability to the Village Board or the residents of Sauk Village.  Hanks claims that the village’s finances get a “GREEN LIGHT” while all evidence points to the contrary! Property taxes continue to rise while values fall. 

 

It's time for the residents to stand up and say NO MORE!  NO tHANKS! 

TAXPAYERS COULD FACE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PENSION MESS

By Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  The Sauk Village Police Pension Board met Thursday afternoon  and while the Pension Fund is solvent and earning money the Village taxpayers could be on the hook for millions of unfunded liabilities because the Village officials are not contributing.  The Village has not made their contributions to the Police Pension Fund in over 4 years, including this year according to Village Treasurer James Griegel.

Longtime resident Judy Cast, who is a widow of the late Sergeant Alan Cast, attended the Pension Board meeting looking for answers.  “I have FOIA’ed (Freedom of Information Act Request) this information and I do receive my late husband’s pension.  I don’t understand why this group has not had an audit.  This group with all these intelligent people in here, why don’t we have an audit” Cast asked.

Pension Board Attorney Cary Collins, attorney with Collins and Radja, who has served as the Pension Board attorney for about 25 years explained  “Usually the village has someone (doing their audit) and that person will come in and do our (the pension board’s audit) for a fee.  Presently no one has told us that they are doing the village’s audit and would be willing to do our audit” Collins said.  “We’re required to do it (the audit)” Collins said to which Cast responded “but it’s not being done”.

“How much is the village supposed to be putting into the pension fund” Cast inquired during the meeting.  Collins responded stating that the Pension Board files with the state Department of Insurance a financial report who in turn provides an actuarial study, the Pension Board submits the study to the village, the Pension board also provides the village board with an additional actuarial study from another source as a second opinion along with a request for a tax levy.  The Village is suppose to act on the Pension Board’s recommendation and levy (or collect) the property taxes to fund the pension. 

Cast continued to ask questions.  “How much does the village owe the pension fund”?  Cast submitted this in her original Freedom of Information Act request she stated to the Pension Board.  “I just got an estimate from the auditors here for the last four or five years the amount is approximately $1.7 million” Griegel reported to the Pension Board.

Collins indicated to the Board that the Pension Fund must be “fully funded” by 2040.  “So what happens is that shortfall carries over which increases the annual tax levy requirement” Collins said.  “You pay me now or you’re going to pay me later, later is going to be a lot higher” Collins said.  “They have shorted us over the years.  That shortfall rolls over each year into the ‘unfunded liability’” Collin said.  The current “unfunded liability” to the Police Pension Fund is nearly $6 million.  Collins summed it up by saying “When they (the Village) shorts us it’s like kicking the can down the road”.

“At one time this pension fund was 100% funded” Collins said.  Collins suggested that many municipalities plugged up financial holes in their budgets by underfunding their pensions.  The Village’s pension is currently only funded at about 52% according to financial reports.

The Police Pension has not been audited in several years and will be engaging the services of MPS (Mulcahy, Pauriitsh, Salvador & Company LTD) out of Orland Park, Illinois to perform and complete their audit reports.

Pension Board President and former Sauk Village Police Sergeant Theodore “Ted” Sanders said when he came and saw the mess that the pension  was in he wanted to come back and do something to make things right.  “We’re currently exceeding our target of actuarial projections and overall the pension fund is in good shape” Sanders said.  But Sanders and the Pension Board expect the village to do their part and will work hard to ensure that the pension fund remains solvent.

The Pension Board consists of Griegel, Sanders, who is President of the Board, Sergeants Scott Langen and Rebecca Sailsbery and resident Pat Couch.  Both Salisbury and Couch were not in attendance Thursday.

 

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