Algonquin Township Road District – Hanlon won, where is the local press?

McHenry Co. (ECWd) –

The real joy in our work is that we don’t have a dog in the race and have been able to focus on the whole truth and the law.  As many have read lately, the local media has been beating the drum on anything negative they can find regarding Algonquin Township Road Commissioner Andrew Gasser and his attorney Rob Hanlon while pretty much ignoring all the wrongdoing of the current Board, Clerk, and Supervisor.

We continually see people typing on social media how Hanlon has lost every action he has taken so he needs to go.  Others bashed Andrew Gasser for terminating certain employees when he took office and said that will come back to bite him.

I wonder why the local paper is silent on the fact Hanlon just won the case regarding termination of Ryan Green? I guess Gasser being vindicated is not newsworthy to local media? 

“This amount includes prevailing against Local 150 in the discharge of Ryan Green before the Illinois Department of Employment Security. As you know I addressed that in a separate correspondence on June 4,
2018.”

When local reporting wants to accomplish an objective they tend to overlook a lot of items that don’t support the narrative they are either pushing or writing about.  Being object is hard when you live in the community as you may know or even be related to those you write about.  Thus our enjoyment in what we do as we rarely have to worry about such a problem as our work is all across the state and in other parts of the country where we don’t know these people.

An example of an agenda driving the writing can be found in the recent “outrage” over the $400 an hour rate charged by the Road District Attorney Rob Hanlon. Unless we missed something, the Board should have been well aware of the rate as it was their job to audit the bills every month.  Considering the bills explicitly outline what the rate is, why the sudden surprise?

You see there are two ways to report.  The spin that works up people in support of an agenda or one that tells the whole story and lets people come to their own conclusion. For example, claiming the rate jumped to $400.00 is misleading if not outright false. The truth of the matter is the rate did not jump at all.  What happened was the discount being provided from the established rate ended.

As you can see in the document, the rate has always been $400.00 an hour.

Another example?

“Hanlon’s letter makes no mention of his fees increasing from $375 to $400”. (NWH) 

Of course, there is no mention of his fees increasing because they have not increased.  What actually happened was the discount terminated, but reporting it that way does not rile up the anger.

And while the press talks about the total legal bill for the Road District they conveniently failed to mention that not all of those bills are from Rob Hanlon or his firm.  Over $7,000.00 come from James Kelly, but letting the public know that does not help the narrative of attacking Hanlon.

There is an old saying that you get what you pay for.  James Kelly charges a whole lot less and look what that representation has accomplished for this Township.

Stay tuned for exposure on the plagiarism accusations and certain missing information from the local reporting that the people should know as it is very clear there is a lot of misinformation being spread.

As a teaser from the Supreme Court of Kentucky:

“Legal instruments are widely plagiarized, of course. We see no impropriety in one lawyer’s adopting another’s work, thus becoming the “drafter” in the sense that he accepts responsibility for it. That, after all, is the object at which KRS 382.335 is directed.” Supreme Court of Kentucky Sep 2, 1976

“Copying of legal instruments and agreements does not constitute plagiarism because the attorneys who prepare the document are not generally claiming “authorship” in the standard sense. The signers of such instruments do so to indicate that they endorse, stand behind or agree to the content of the document. There can be no plagiarism without an express or implicit claim of authorship.” (By James D. Peterson and Jennifer L. Gregory, Godfrey & Kahn SC )

“…good brief writers draw from the ideas of others, and not all such sources need to be, or can be, acknowledged.” (By James D. Peterson and Jennifer L. Gregor, Godfrey & Kahn SC)

.
Our work is funded entirely thru donations and we
ask that you consider donating at the below link.