TRAVELGATE: WILLIAMS SAGA CONTINUES

Village Clerk Debbie Williams

By Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  By now hopes where that the people of Sauk Village would know just who paid for a trip that Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter Trustee Rosie Williams had taken to Washington D.C.

The Williams mother and daughter duo took a trip to a Building One America Summit in Washington D.C. in July, 2013 along with a Village vendor.  Williams solicited donations on the Village’s website and from among Village vendors, but called the matter a “personal trip”.  Williams later shared video of her presentation at the summit on the Village’s website, which is taxpayer funded.

A Freedom of Information Act request was filed following a July 23, 2013 meeting in which Village Clerk Debbie Williams had a virtual melt down.  The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office issued a non-binding opinion in the matter in March, 2014 stating that Village should provide all information requested.  The Village ignored the Attorney General’s opinion.  So we made a follow up request to the Village requesting the same information, since the Village had failed to deny or honor the request in the first place.  The Village again refused to provide the information.  We then asked the Attorney General to issue a Binding Opinion in the matter.  The response came finally after months as the Attorney General’s office issued a rare Binding Opinion stating that the Village violated the Freedom of Information Act by failing to provide all information about the trip which was requested.

The Village, through the taxpayer funded attorney, in November, 2014 has sued the Illinois Attorney General stating that the Attorney General and I had essentially colluded against the Village in what is known as ex parte communications.  In December, 2014, the Attorney General filed a lengthy multi-page legal motion to dismiss the Village’s frivolous action.  The Attorney General, in their motion to dismiss the Village's action the Attorney General reminded the Village that the State of Illinois has Supremacy over the Village and that its power is derived from the State. 

A hearing was scheduled for Monday, February 9^th; however, the Village was unprepared and requested a continuance.  The Continuance was not objected to by the Village or I and the hearing will go forward in March.

Taxpayers are likely paying for the legal services to protect the actions of Debbie Williams and Rosie Williams as they are not in compliance with the Illinois Attorney General’s Binding Opinion.  The Illinois Attorney General’s office has vehemently defended their Binding Opinions as a matter of law and for the most part has always been upheld and maintained.

ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: HOLCOMB AND HOUSING COMMISSION VIOLATE LAW

Pictured LtoR: Housing Commissioners Heidi Parker, Gary
Holcomb and Sharon Nowak

By Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has issued a determination that the Sauk Village Housing Commission “violated the OMA (Open Meetings Act) by failing to record its closed meeting held on September 28, 2014, and by having improper discussions and taking final action during the closed session”. 

In a three-page determination the Attorney General’s office stated that Chairman Gary Holcomb and his Housing Commissioners violated the Open Meetings Act because they did not record their closed session meeting as required by law, they discussed “contract matters and housing reports” and Holcomb’s response to the Attorney General did not assert any specific exemptions claimed.  The violation of the law also is cited by the Attorney General’s office because it was noted in the Commission’s minutes that “final action by voting on several matters during the closed meeting” took place.  “These votes violated (the act)… which expressly provides that ‘no final action may be taken at a closed meeting’” the determination states.

Holcomb is a candidate for Village Trustee in the April election also came under intense criticism as he published a photo of a resident’s state identification and her son’s Social Security Card and number on social media pages he controls following the cleanup of an abandoned house in 2014.

It has not yet been determined if any fines will be assessed to the Commissioners for the Violation, the Act does provide for individual fines.  The Sauk Villager News will ask that fines be assessed as required under the Act.

BURGESS ANNOUNCES & FILES FOR RE-ELECTION

SAUK VILLAGE |  After keeping his commitment to the residents of Sauk Village to advocate for  open, honest and transparent government by holding the administration accountable, Trustee Derrick Burgess has announced his bid to seek re-election in April, 2015 as an Independent candidate.

“I have been asked by numerous residents to keep asking questions and ensure their voices are heard” Burgess said.   “After careful consideration of the many residents who have encouraged me to run for office again, I have decided to announce that I will be a candidate for re-election as your Village Trustee” Burgess said.  Burgess devotes full-time to his duties as Trustee since his recent retirement in 2014 from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Burgess has served as Trustee since 2006 and won re-election in 2007 and 2011.  Burgess ran for Mayor in 2009 against Lewis Towers and again in 2013 only after securing the endorsement of then “acting-Mayor” David Hanks.  Hanks subsequently went back on his word and ran against Burgess who lost in a 4-way race.

To give people the opportunity to voice their comments and concerns without time and subject limitations imposed during regularly scheduled Board and Committee meetings, Burgess instituted monthly Town Hall Meetings that are very popular with the residents who want answers to questions.   Burgess routinely asks Hanks for clarification on proposed actions during board meetings and even voted no on the most recent budget, calling it “unbalanced” and “unrealistic”.  Burgess illustrated his concerns about the mayor's proposed budget by presenting a 21 page analysis that highlighted in details the potential points of failure to which no other Trustee had done.  “The purpose of the analysis was to point out to the Board that we could no longer continue with business as usual and we, as a Village Board must work together to bring solutions to the table.  Some decisions and actions taken by the mayor and Board are done so based on their interpretation of "past practices".  These "past practices" have proven to be flawed and have continued to lead us down an unsound fiscal road” Burgess said.

 

Burgess said he will continue to advocate for the residents and that his experience in municipal government has been invaluable. 

“I’m not against moving the village forward, but I feel we have been heading in the wrong direction” Burgess said.

Burgess filed his nomination petitions at Village Hall today at 8am.

Also filing Monday morning were Jeff Morden who was elected to the unexpired term of former Trustee Robert Chavez in a special election in 2013.  Morden has been without a Committee  assignment for months.

Former School District 168 Board President Cecil Tates, who has lived in the Village for more than 30 years and also is a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel.

Gary Holcomb, a supporter of Mayor David Hanks, and chairperson of the Housing Commission who has been the center of controversy over the summer.  The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office is considering a Binding Opinion that the Housing Commission had violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Resident Kelvin Jones also filed Monday.  "I want to make a difference in the community.  We don't need another rubber stamp or bobblehead' Jones said today.

The final candidate to file this morning was John Poskin, a staunch ally to Hanks.  Poskin was Hank's appointment for 2-unexpired terms for Village Trustee and has been the longest serving unelected Trustee in the Village's history.  Poskin will be running for the first time since 2005 when he ran with Hanks and lost.

All of the candidates who filed today, including Burgess are running as independent candidates.

AG REVIEWING VIOLATION OF OPEN MEETINGS ACT

LtoR: Housing Commissioners Heidi Parker,
Chairperson Gary Holcomb and
Commissioner Sharon Nowak

By Joseph Wiszowaty

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 30^th 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. 

Holcomb is now said to be circulating nomination petitions to run for Village Trustee in the Village’s next April election.    

Illinois Attorney General reviewing Travelgate Determination due September 8th

L to R: Rosie Williams and mother Village Clerk Debbie

Williams during a meeting at Village Hall with their

32oz McDonalds drinks... Have you had a break today?

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office issued a letter late Friday (July 25, 2014) stating the following:

"This letter is to advise you that pursuant to section 9.5(f) of the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/9.5(f) (West 2012), the Public Access Counselor in the Office of the Attorney General is extending the time period within which to determine whether to issue a binding opinion by 30 business days, to September 8, 2014.  We are extending the time for the issuance of a binding opinion to allow this office sufficient time to conduct a thorough review of the legal issues in this matter...."

The letter was also sent to Sherry Jasinski the Village's Freedom of Information Act Clerk and one of the Village's Attorney Sarah Gallagher who once worked in the Attorney General's office.

We filed with the Village a Freedom of Information Act requesting all information about Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter Rosie Williams' trip to Washington D.C. to attend a Summit meeting in July, 2013, including the individuals who helped fund this "personal trip".  The Village refused to provide any information and did not provide any reason for the legal basis of their denial. 

Since the Village did not comply with the law, we filed a Request for Review with the Illinois Attorney General's office in September, 2013.  In March, 2014 the Illinois Attorney General's office issued a "non-binding" determination (CLICK HERE TO VIEW IAG's DETERMINATION LETTER).  We afforded the village a two week period in order to send information and none was provided.

Since the Village refused to provide the information, we filed another FIOA request with the Village in April, 2014.  The Village, through the Village Attorney's office, refused the request but did not provide a legal basis for the denial and claimed one part was "burdensome".  We provided the Village with response to limit the scope to make the request less burdensome and the village failed to respond.  As a result we filed with the Illinois Attorney General's office another Request for Review and asked for a determination since the Village did not comply with the previously issued "non-binding" determination and a subsequent request.

The Attorney General's office sent the Village a letter stating they wanted to know the legal basis as to why they refused to comply with their non-binding determination and provide all of the information to us.  The Village refused to make a formal response to the Illinois Attorney General's Office.

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.

ILLINOIS RESIDENTS WIN A LITTLE VICTORY - QUINN VETOES FOIA BILL

OPINION EDITORIAL
by Joseph Wiszowaty

Well I don't agree with Governor Pat Quinn on many things, however, he did the right thing by vetoing a piece of legislation that would have restricted people from filing Freedom of Information Act Requests.

To charge an ordinary citizen $100 for a request for information flies in the face of responsible government!  News media, such as myself, would have been exempt from the nonsense legislation, but ordinary citizens would have had to belly up the dough!

So GOOD JOB Governor Quinn!

Imagine, if people couldn't afford to fight city hall because in order for you to get your facts, you have to shell out $100 first!

I have sent in numerous FOIA requests such as the one which is with the Illinois Attorney General because the village has refused to honor Madigan's office's previous demand for Sauk Village to turn over all documents relating to the Travelgate Scandal.  This scandal has exposed Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter Village Trustee Rosie Williams solicitation of what they called "donations" using taxpayer resources so they could take a "personal trip" to Washington DC last year!  So far the Illinois Attorney General begs to differ, this was not a "personal trip" and full disclosure was requested and .demanded in a non-binding opinion in March, 2014.

Good Job Pat Quinn... allowing private citizens access to information and exposing corruption is important!

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.

VILLAGE JOINS SUIT OVER CONTAMINATED WATER

By Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  Sauk Village appears to have joined a lawsuit filed by a group of residents who filed a class-action suit against Roadway Express, Inc, YRC Worldwide Inc, Ardadis US, Inc; Arcadis NV, and Lincoln Limited.  The Village does not appear to have joined the class action suit but is joining in with the residents’ action seeking their own “compensatory, punitive, and statutory damages” including legal fees and costs from all defendants.  Bernice Brewer-Houston, former mayoral candidate, is one of the residents in the class action against the defendants.

The Village claims in their action that the ground water contamination of chlorinated volatile organic compounds was first identified in the Village’s water supply, that services the 2874 residential customers, 61 business and 8 schools, was detected in February, 2008. 

The village, despite the fact that the known carcinogen was being detected in February, 2008 continued to pump water from the contaminated well #3 on adjacent to the Roadway property until May, 2009 took the well offline.  The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency stepped in and issued a Notice of Violation to the village on June 23, 2009 and the Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed suit against the village for the violation. 

In November, 2009, concentrations of vinyl choloride continue to increase and now tests confirmed that wells #1 and #2 on Sauk Trail were now contaminated as well according to the suit.  The Village continued to pump the contaminated water to the residents and businesses until the Attorney General along with the IEPA stepped in in July, 2012 and ordered the Village to provide bottled drinking water to residents since testing confirmed the concentrations of vinyl chloride had risen to 2.50 ug/l in well #1. 

The Village indicates in their suit that they incurred costs for the emergency temporary air strippers in 2012, and the residents will get socked with a $5.3 million price tag over a 20 year period in order to bring the groundwater standards up to safe drinking levels according to the suit.

The suit filed by the village claims that “beginning in 1989, Roadway Express reported a leaking underground storage tank(UST)”.  The village also claims that “between 1989 and 2005, Roadway Express reported six leaking UST incidents to the Illinois EPA.  Roadway Express on its site reported a spill/release of approximately 55-gallons of Tricholorethene (chlorinated solvent) in 2001.  Roadway Express documented the presence of non-petroleum contamination (including chlorinated solvents) on the property dating back to as early as 1993”.

The village contends that “Roadway Express Property has a history of non-petroleum soil contamination”.  “Between 1997 and 2002, Roadway Express reported seven ERNS (emergency response notification system) spills to the United States EPA.  The source of the spills include 15-gallons of hydrazine (1997), 5-gallons of hydrazine (1998), 5-gallons of hydrazine (1998), 30-gallons of fuel oil (1999), 90-gallons of diesel fuel (2000), 55-gallons of trichloroethylene (2001), and 37-gallons of xylene (2002).  No further information on these spills was supplied by the United States EPA or the Illinois EPA, which suggests these spills are open, uninvestigated, and considered environmental violations for the property”.

The village also states in the suit that “Roadyway Express reportedly maintained a waste pit on this property where leaking and damaged containers are placed to drain into the soil and eventually the ground water beneath the site”. 

“In June, 2008, the IEPA advised YRC and Roadway Express that it would only issue no further remediation letters regarding their leaking underground storage tank if no water under the Roadway Express property would be used as potable water.  Sauk Village’s Well 3 is located on the Roadway Express Property” according to the suit filed.

In addition to Roadway and YRC, the Village names Lincoln Landfill located in nearby Ford Heights, less than a ½ mile from the Village’s Well 3 as a defendant in their suit claiming the dump was operated without a valid permit from the Illinois EPA and “has disposed of hazardous materials in its landfill”.  Also that the landfill operators have “done nothing to prevent hazardous materials to enter the soil and migrate into the water…. And…contributed to the contamination of the Sauk Village water source.”

The Village claims negligence, trespass and nuisance against YRS, Roadway , Arcadis, Lincoln Landfill and demands “trial by jury for all causes herein so triable(sic)”.

Residents of Sauk Village passed a referendum in March, 2012 to abandon the wells and transition to Lake Michigan water, however, the costs to make the necessary infrastructure improvements have proven almost unattainable in the short term.  The Village never-the-less increase water rates from $3.50 per 1000 gallons of water to $7.50 per $1000 gallons of water to cover the increased costs the village will have with the loan the IEPA gave the village for the permanent air strippers.  Many residents, including Houston contend that the administration of Mayor David Hanks have used the water funds to balance the budget and not made the necessary improvements that the water rate increase was intended.

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.

BINDING OPINION REQUESTED OF ATTORNEY GENERAL

by Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has determined that "further inquiry" was warranted into the Village's denial of one of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for information regarding Village Clerk Debbie Williams and her daughter Village Trustee Rosie Williams' trip to Washington D.C. back in July, 2013.

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".  McGrath tried to downplay the significance of the letter at a village board meeting stating that these are simply "form letters".

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 Village also responded to the Attorney General with a generic spreadsheet page showing how much they charged the Village for the investigation that they allegedly conducted into the legality of the Travelgate scandal, however, they did not provide any billing invoices or information which was requested as part of the original FOIA request.

The Attorney General has been seeking that very information that Williams refused to provide as the Village did not state that the information was "exempt".  We have requested that the Illinois Attorney General issue a "binding opinion" and find that the Village violated the Freedom of Information Act because it failed to provide information clearly falling under the public domain for which the Village refused to provide.

The Illinois Attorney General continues their investigation into the matter and we await their findings which are likely to occur after the first of the year.  We will keep you posted on these ongoing matters.

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