College of DuPage – Drama Queen McGuire hard at work!

DuPage Co. (ECWd) –
It would appear there is no end in sight for Trustee McGuire’s need to grandstand, spread misinformation, and tell out right lies.  One can only wonder how much attention is enough for her.
Trustee McGuire has once again, with assistance from Kory (Kory Atkinson based on meta data in the file), taken things to a new low by not only sending a letter filled with lies and insinuations, but also demands for the law firm representing COD  to resign their services.  She also felt it should be provided to the Daily Herald, who kindly obliged in printing much of her misinformation once again.   (Daily Herald article)
For starters, one must wonder why the paper used what appears to be a 20 year old stock photo instead of the current one?  Was that at her request in an effort to promote her past image for political gain?  See how that works Ms. McGuire? McGuire is the same trustee, along with another local Democrat that filed an ARDC complaint against the board attorney.  The current letter sent to the Daily Herald just shows us, even after the ARDC ruled her complaint unfounded, she just cannot accept being wrong.
Instead, she continues to lie. As reported by the Herald, “McGuire says she wants the firm replaced because of, among other things, Elliott’s close relationship with former clients who have been adversaries of the college.”

Any wonder who she is talking about?

Let’s dissect her lies once again:

• Rathje & Woodward, and you personally, represented the Edgar County Watchdogs and For the Good of Illinois in court against COD mere weeks before you switched sides to represent COD.  Your decision was prompted, no doubt, by the knowledge that you could make far more in legal fees at COD than with the college’s adversaries – with whom you still seem to enjoy a close relationship.
  

I find it amazing that our organization and For the Good of Illinois are “adversaries” in her mind.  Yes, we took COD to court because past council lied to the Attorney General by claiming if asked they would move to a larger room.  We asked multiple times and they refused to follow the law.  It was clear COD was not our adversaries, Breuder and his minions were.  We are not and never have been adversaries to the college.

• Enclosed are two photos of you conversing with two of your former clients immediately after a COD board meeting in September 2015.

I wish someone would have snapped a picture of McGuire talking to us during the break at a past COD Meeting.  Then we could use her logic and tell people that such a picture reflects we have a close relationship with McGuire…
Two Pictures!  Two pictures that were taken literally seconds apart and this is supposed to be an influencing factor for a law firm to resign?
Considering McGuire is such a fine investigator on matters, she would have known that the purpose of that conversation was in relation to a FOIA response.   It was COD business that took all of 2 minutes to get clarification.  Sadly, once again McGuire misrepresents the facts.

• Your affinity for your former clients can also be discerned from your silence at board meetings when your former clients attack and throw vicious insults at minority members of the board at almost every meeting despite instructions from Board Chair that rules of “common courtesy” apply to public comment

How ironic that the very woman who refereed to those exposing wrong doing as Nazi’s is now calling for common courtesy.

I find it amusing to see those exposed for illegal acts react. Instead of doing the right thing they deflect and fabricate.  They build straw men arguments  and will go to any level possible to divert attention from the truth. Our exposure of truth about Trustee McGuire is not an attack, nor have we ever thrown vicious insults at minority members of the board.  Her perception is that our exposing her and others may be an attack and vicious insults, however, telling the truth is all we have done.  Clearly the truth hurts.

Time for some constitutional awareness Trustee McGuire!

Public comment is a time for the public to say what they wish to their government.  Regardless of a call for common courtesy, the law does not allow you to silence people’s speech because you don’t like being exposed.  Just as you could sit in that meeting and attack those exposing illegal acts and throw vicious insults by calling people Nazis, so too can any citizen at a meeting.

In addition, for you to imply that an attorney for the board has any authority or obligation to interject during a public comment  shows us once again what a waist of money it was sending you to ACCT training conferences, as you have no understanding of the role such a person has in a meeting, which is not to interject to limit a person’s speech protected by law!

• The board did not even go through the most rudimentary of procurement processes before it selected you and Rathje & Woodward again as its counsel over four far more qualified law firms with vastly greater experience and resources in the area of higher education law.

Another lie.  In fact, the current board went above and beyond what the law requires when it comes to hiring a law firm.

• the continued presence of you and Rathje & Woodard at COD is divisive and an impediment to the board’s reconciliation

Continued lies, misinformation, and grandstanding appears to most people to be the primary reason there is division with McGuire and the majority of the board, although she is entitled to her opinion.

• You and Rathje & Woodward have withheld, and continue to withhold, information from board members.
  

Another lie in which she got called out publicly for at last nights meeting during public comment.

• When board members were forced to turn to the Freedom of Information Act requests and client request letters to try to get any information about COD’s finances, its legal representation, or its investigation of its administrators, you and Rathje & Woodward obstructed access to needed information.

No one forced her to file a FOIA for information and that too was exposed as a lie at last nights meeting during public comment.

• Your and Rathje & Woodward’s billing at COD is quite simply obscene

Interesting the previous firms rates never bothered her, and I understand they are basically the same rate.

• Your political campaign for the DuPage County Board is at odds with your and Rathje & Woodward’s continued representation of COD. Rathje & Woodward’s obscene billing gives the appearance that you may be financing your campaign through your work at COD.

How special Ms. McGuire.  Not one shred of evidence to support a claim that his campaign is at odds with representation of COD, but since you said it, it must be true?   Using her logic any attorney running for a political office should resign from representing their clients because they would be at odds with them.
Another reference to billing as being obscene without telling anyone that it is the same as the previous firm.  That is grandstanding and sensationalizing with no facts to back it up.
For her to claim a lawyer’s billing gives the appearance that he  may be financing his campaign through his work at COD without one shred of fact, is yet another example of how this woman will lie at all costs to get attention.   We challenge her to provide one shred of evidence to support her statement.

• It must have also crossed your mind that your former clients (i.e., Edgar County Watchdogs and For the Good of Illinois) would come in handy in attacking your political opponents as they have attacked your current clients (i.e., COD board members).

Once again McGuire just can’t get even a shred of truth into her malicious and false narrative.  For the Good of Illinois is a 501c3 who by law is not allowed to be involved in political activities.   As far as us attacking political opponents, there is that false narrative again.
When we expose truth, good or bad, it is not an attack and it is perfectly legal. It should also be noted that we have not attacked the past or current COD members.  We have exposed malfeasance of their actions and will continue, just as we are with this response to her letter of lies.
And for the record, our purpose is not about helping people win an election.  It is about exposing bad government and properly vetting those who wish to represent the people. Which by the way is yet another constitutionally protected right!

Her closing paragraph tells us all we need to know with this political grand-stander.

• In summary, your and Rathje & Woodward’s legal counsel is greatly suspect and detrimental to COD. Are you truly representing the entire board and its best interests? Or are you telling individual board members what they want to hear? Is your legal advice calculated to ensure the continued flood of money from COD and its unwitting taxpayers? Are you and your firm using COD and its unwitting taxpayers to finance your campaign for the County Board? Is your legal advice based on your political campaign for the DuPage County Board?

Ms. McGuire, if counsel was not representing the entire board you would have grounds for an ARDC complaint, which you already tried that and failed.  The rest of your questions are from the text book of political hatchet jobs.  Each question has no basis to support it but the implication garners headlines.
It is no different than a person asking you: “Have you stopped beating your kids?”  I have no proof that you ever had but the question leads people to believe you had.  That is how political hacks operate and it appears you are a master  at it.

Need more examples of how this works Ms. McGuire?

• In summary, Ms. Mcguire your position on the board is greatly suspect and detrimental to COD.
• Are you truly representing all the taxpayers and students or you own personal interests in free meals and hotel stays?
• Are you using your position on the COD Board to further your name recognition for future political gain?
• Are you using COD and the unwitting taxpayers to finance your vacations?
• Are you using COD and the unwitting taxpayers to finance your political aspirations?

Ms. McGuire, do the right thing. Resign now.