Lerna, IL. (ECWd) –
The excuses we hear every where we go are almost all the same, but I am starting to think there is a secret book of excuses out there some people are reading.
Several months ago during a Lerna village meeting I informed the Village President, Don Pearcy, that his Statements of Economic Interests were not truthful – as a matter of fact, they have contained false information for at least the past 5 years.
Everyone keeps telling me how much of a “nice guy” Pearcy is, and how he only wants to help out the residents of the village.
I would have believed that if he had filed a corrected Statement of Economic Interest when he was informed his was false. Now I believe it to be knowingly and willfully. So I will call it like it is.
The Illinois Governmental Ethics Act requires certain elected, appointed, and employed individuals to file an annual Statement of Economic Interest. It requires the person named to be truthful on the SEI – Don Pearcy was not truthful.
In the IGEA’s definitions, to further understand some terms unsed on the form, it defines “entity” as:
Sec. 1-111. "Person" or "entity" means an individual, proprietorship, partnership, association, trust, estate, business trust, group, or corporation, whether or not operated for profit, or a governmental agency, unit, or subdivision.
Item number 6 on the SEI Form asked to “List the name of any entity doing business with a unit of local government in relation to which the person us required to file from which an income of more than $1,200 was derived during the preceding calendar year…”
Pearcy (the “entity”) should have written: “Don Pearcy, Lerna Maintenance Supervisor” – instead, he wrote “NONE”. Pearcy was the entity who derived income in excess of $1,200 and it was with the Village of Lerna, for which he was filing the SEI.
He is required to file under Section 4A-101(g) of the Act.
Section 4A-107 explains the Penalty of not filing, or filing a false or incomplete SEI – That Penalty is a Class A Misdemeanor, which carries a potential fine of up to $1000, imprisonment of up to 1 year, or both fine and imprisonment.
He was informed a couple months ago at a meeting, the former village attorney informed him, and yet he defies the law by letting the false document stand as though it is correct.
Is this the action of “a good person”…or is this the action of a person who finally got caught and is delaying the inevitable?
More on Pearcy in future articles, and reaches back more than 10 years…
