Edgar Co., IL. (ECWd) –
This past week we have observed the Edgar County Board unanimously act in favor of a Resolution when they thought it would enrich themselves, which was the subject of a previous article. Somehow they think it is perfectly OK to pass a resolution to “memorialize” health insurance for board members even though the law says they cannot receive it at this time.
This is akin to bank robbers passing a law that says their their last 15 years of robbing banks are forgiven (“memorialized”),Β since it has been happening for so long.
How convenient! – act on a self-serving Resolution, but fail to act on a twice-admitted false statement in a financial audit.
When it comes to “memorializing” the out-right theft of $100,000.00 of county funds, all we hear are crickets…and silence…
This is another issue that will never go away until the county board deals with it appropriately.
If you remember a couple years ago, we proved that Dee Burgin had still owed $100,000.00 for the “purchase” of the then-county ambulance service. The county board, with the assistance of Mark Isaf, the Edgar County State’s Attorney, refused to collect the debt owed. The board did not have the authority to not collect, but they let it go anyway.
During the audit, former County Board Chairman Jim Keller had the auditors lie on the audit and place a “Note 12” which basically stated Burgin paid the money and owes nothing to the county. It was a lie. Everybody knows it was a lie.
Conveniently, the auditing firm is now out of business. Board members at the time were: Jim Keller, Jeff Pointer, Verlin Funkhouser, Kevin Trogdon, Ben Jenness, Karl Farnham Jr., and Jeff Voigt.
Twice since we found the “Note 12”, the county board has publicly stated during public meetings that they acknowledge the “Note 12” was “incorrect” – and claim they can do nothing to “memorialize” their findings that the Note 12 is false and that Burgin never paid the $100,000.00 and that the auditors were wrong when they inserted that false statement into the audit.
I went so far as to ask them to simply pass a resolution setting the record straight about the false “Note 12” and attaching it to the audit to “memorialize” the fact that Burgin did not pay the $100,000.00 to the county.
That is too hard to do – instead, they “memorialize” their health insurance participation for their own personal financial benefit, which currently violates state law.
