DuPage Township, IL. (ECWd) –
DuPage Township has taken it upon themselves to donate at least $459,812 since April of 2013.
These are your tax dollars being given away to apparently whomever asks for it.
Here t is broken down by fiscal year:
- 2013-2014 – $96,615.00
- 2014-2015 – $68,665.00
- 2015-2016 – $94,152.00
- 2016-2017 – $88,596.00
- 2017-2018 – $109,959.00
- 2017-2018 – $1,875.00 (this year is just beginning)
These donations must (1) be used to provide a service, (2) recipient must be a nonprofit (with a couple exceptions), (3) funds donated must be used to provide the service only to township residents, and (4) the nonprofit must have been existence for at least one year prior to the donation.
We have written about donations by Townships previously when we looked at Shelbyville Township in downstate Shelby County (here and here), with some key points below:
The Law
60 ICLS 1/235-5 “The township board may raise money, by taxation not exceeding the rates established in Section 235-10, for the following purposes:
(6) “Providing services in cooperation with another governmental entity, not-for-profit corporation, or nonprofit community service association under Section 85-13”
Is there anyone that does not understand the language “Providing Services in cooperation with”? It specifically outlines tax money can be used for “Providing Services in cooperation with another governmental entity, not-for-profit corporation, or nonprofit community service association. It is almost the exact language used for the intent of spending public money outlined at the Constitutional Convention. This law goes a step further and points to section 85-13 , which lists the very services the township can provide directly or in cooperation with those entities listed.
60-ILCS 1/85-13 “The township board may either expend funds directly or may enter into any cooperative agreement or contract with any other governmental entity, not-for-profit corporation, non-profit community service association, or any for-profit business entity as provided in subsection (b) with respect to the expenditure of township funds, or funds made available to the township under the federal State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972, to provide any of the following services to the residents of the township:
Simply put, The township board may expend funds directly to provide any of the following services to the residents of the township (See the statute for a list of those services).
The power to spend was given in order to provide services listed in the statute. The Township has taken the position that donations to groups like the post-prom, wrestling, volleyball, baseball, etc., is allowed as long as they do it directly with them. That is not consistent with the constitutional intent nor legislative intent, nor Attorney General Opinion.
For starters, a key qualifier in section 85-13 is this statement as it applies to spending. It can only be used for “(1) Ordinary and necessary maintenance and operating expenses for the following”, then lists several services the township can provide, directly or through other entities.
We have requested copies of the cooperative agreements or contracts with each recipient of these public funds. Additional information coming soon.
You can view the list of spending at this link or view below.
Donations sponsorship scholarship loans grants 2013 to 2018
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ask that you consider donating at the below link.
17 Comments
Real News Believer
Posted at 02:18h, 02 AugustTruth Believer, not sure how much experience you have with government or being on boards, because trustees are not there to provide “oversight” I don’t think that the voters would appreciate that they are paying a salary to these trustees to just provide “oversight”. And your right, interesting that none of these articles are about Benford, however feel they should be. She is the one that has been conducting illegal activity from what I have seen. She has taken confidential information out of township to give to her daughters to allegedly input into a QuickBooks software without ANY approval. She has had access to an employee email after she voted to terminate her without board approval or knowledge, this could be potentially tampering with evidence, plus had access to the township website, which gave her the opportunity to change township documents again without board knowledge or board approval. You mention that Supervisor Mayer is responsible for the day to day operations, however sure seems like Benford has been taking that role on since she began doing the QuickBooks conversion, talking to Township Vendors and who knows what else she has been doing. Regarding your comment about Supervisor Mayer not attending training – how confident are you of that? Did you do a FOIA to find that out? I find that very hard to believe that over a course of his tenure that he has not attended ANY training. You asked several questions in your rant….to give my answers….1. It’s not solely the Supervisors job to fulfill the auditor’s recommendations, it’s the entire board. 2. Trustee Alyssia Benford is the ONLY one wasting taxpayer’s dollars. 3. Yes, the entire board voted for the forensic audit that was demanded by ONE Trustee, which is on tape. Share facts when you rant, otherwise, it’s again wasting time for everyone. Again, you say that Supervisor Mayer won’t listen to the board – share examples, not just assumptions.
Real News Believer
Posted at 01:55h, 02 AugustTruth Believer, I was directing my comments to Trudy.
Real News Believer
Posted at 01:53h, 02 AugustThis article is not about Supervisor Mayer, it specifically states “DuPage Township gives away money”, “DuPage Township has taken it upon…..” I’m seeing the 2nd highest dollar amount given was 2013-2014 which was when Trustee George, Mikos, Watts, Benford, Burgess, Oliver and Supervisor Mayer were all part of the board during that year. Trustee George was on the board for 15+ years and has a strong background of Township Law, I doubt he would have allowed funds to be disbursed that were not allowed. Plus again, from the recording I heard, the attorney has been part of township since before the 1990’s. Seems to me that the attorney should have some responsibility too, or maybe they just checked out….which isn’t an excuse.
testing
Posted at 20:47h, 30 Julytest
Charlotte Droogan
Posted at 14:21h, 19 JulyHow about we have more money for General Assistance ( WHICH IS THEIR REAL JOB ).
Truth Seeker
Posted at 10:37h, 19 JulyLet me get this straight. The board reviewed your allegations about using the GA fund and is taking steps to correct the situation. Since you couldn’t “get them” that way, you’re now resorting to questioning how they support community organizations? Every single one of these organizations works to better the community and residents. With approximately 93,000 residents, these expenditures amount to an average of $1.00 per person per year.
What exactly is your issue with this? With the number of FOIA requests you had to have submitted to get this information, I’m guessing you cost the taxpayers quite a bit of money yourselves. Care to make a donation to cover those costs? Yeah, I thought not.
Your comment “These are your tax dollars being given away to apparently whomever asks for it” proves that your interests are not in being a watchdog, but rather lie in riling up a community to become a lynchmob. You really should consider the source of your leaks and stop allowing yourselves to be used to further the agenda of either a political candidate or a disgruntled ex-employee. Everyone talking about this pretty much knows where this came from…
Trudy
Posted at 23:33h, 19 JulyI heard a recording of the last meeting. The board didn’t review any allegations of the GA fund yet. I hope they plan to address it soon. The other article was never even mentioned, only the FOIA requests. Only after someone in the audience questioned if Mayer has been filing the required reported about GA and other GA requirements did Mayer admit “this was the first time he heard of this” and admitted he hadn’t attended training on how to properly disburse the General Assistance funds. How do YOU know the number of FOIA requests submitted? Are you the FOIA Officer for the Township? Did you FOIA a copy of the FOIA Requests submitted to the Township? Do you work for the township? If not, then YOU shouldn’t have access to this information without properly requesting it. The truth is everyone talking about this knows Mayer has done without board knowledge or misrepresented the facts to the board. On one recording I heard, a burglary was consealed from the board, attorney and auditors. From what I have seen, The issue is he has ignored the laws, ignored the board, ignored the attorney, ignored the auditors and does what he wants until he get caught. After he gets caught he blames everyone he has ignored and then says he won’t do it anymore. In recent board recordings you can even hear Mayer refusing to listen to requests from board and even argues with board members for asking questions. But I’m sure YOU know that already since YOU know how many FOIAs were submitted. This is a governmental agency and tax dollars, not someone’s personal checkbook. Why would you use the term “leaks”? The public has a right to know what Mayer has been doing with their tax dollars and to this organization.
Truth Seeker
Posted at 00:02h, 22 JulyWow, you’re pretty much an idiot, aren’t YOU? I never said I knew how many FOIA requests were submitted. What I said was directed to JM KRAFT and was a comment in reply to him saying ” We have requested copies of the cooperative agreements or contracts with each recipient of these public funds. Additional information coming soon.”
As for who I am, no, I am not a township employee, I’m a citizen who is sick and tired of dirty politics. YOU seem intimately involved with the township so I guess I have to ask who YOU are? As far as I know, township meetings are not recorded for public use so please tell me where YOU are getting the recordings. The general public, like myself, would love to have that option instead of having to attend the meetings. YOU appear to be driven by hatred for Supervisor Mayer so now I’m wondering what exactly did he do to you to make you this hateful and angry?
Trudy
Posted at 22:30h, 22 JulyWow, from deflection to intimidation to name calling. Mr. and Mrs. Truth Seeker, as taxpayers we should all be able to ask questions, FOIA records and not be attacked. You seemed to be grilling Mr. Kraft because he was submitting FOIA requests. You want to shame him for asking questions? I would prefer someone to FOIA and post the information they receive, then to have someone tell a version of a story they want everyone to believe and it isn’t the truth. You keep “talking politics”. And this blog is about responsible government, not politics. Didn’t I hear on the same meeting recording that someone at the meeting say “the Edgar County Watchdogs is anti township?” Is that true or are they more about transparency and anti corruption. Someone would make a statement like that in an open meeting and purposely mislead the entire audience, in an effort to discredit Mr. Kraft’s articles. Now that would be dirty politics right? You should ask why that person would not tell the truth to the audience. Governmental meetings are public meetings which means anyone can record the meetings right? Do they have to notify YOU in advance that they are recording a meeting? If I were labeling myself as a “truth seeker”, I would want the meetings recorded so the truth would be there for anyone to listen to. You slipped up with making reference to the number of FOIA’s so now you want to argue and deflect. It’s ok Mr. & Mrs. Truth Seeker, we can agree to disagree. No one is being hateful, I’m just a concerned citizen that is “anti lies.” You apparently are just upset that I comment when YOU purposely try to mislead the readers by not stating the true facts. Let’s make a deal, YOU tell the truth and then I won’t need to comment. I will tell all of my friends to have those recorders ready for Tuesday’s meeting, you should record it to and we can compare notes.
REAL NEWS BELIEVER
Posted at 09:21h, 31 JulyTrudy, you are correct that people are able to FOIA records and not be attacked, however I haven’t heard of anything you did a FOIA on? Seems you are only here to attack those that want the REAL facts and not just made up stories from one rogue trustee. If you are interested in seeing items that have been FOIA’d then I can share items that I have received from several different sources that have done several FOIA requests. I also heard on a recording that Benford plans to bring several investigations and lawsuits to the township, which will cost the taxpayers even more money. That’s more programs and partnerships that will not be able to benefit because of a trustee that is more interested in getting her name in the paper/blog. So how I’m seeing it, she has cost the taxpayers money on a wasted forensic audit, attorney fees for this witch hunt she is on and for the illegal firing of a township employee, plus most recently unjust lawsuits trying to be brought onto the township by HER….seems to me she is deflecting away from some of the illegal behaviors SHE is conducting and trying to find other ways to get others in trouble. Another strange question – how is it that a trustee that happens to be a CPA, has been a part of this board since 2011, never raised any questions about any alleged misappropriations? Or is it possible that misappropriations only occurred since she had all the township documents in HER possession at an off-site location? Hmmmmmm
Trudy, I do not believe for one minute that YOU are a concerned citizen that is “anti lies” as you said. In my opinion, you are clearly on this blog to tell lies and tell your one-sided opinions. You have shared NO facts!
Truth Believer
Posted at 06:42h, 01 AugustReal News Believer, How do you know I haven’t already received information via a FOIA a request? And what I find ironic is that you only want to attack one person and try to blame them when the only person in charge of day to day operations is the “Supervisor”. The board provides oversight. So you can save your rant. I’m glad Edgar County Watchdogs is investigating. They are “ anti-corruption”. None of these articles is about Benford, they are all about Supervisor Mayer and his actions. He has already admitted he NEVER attended proper training. Now how is that Benford’s fault again? I’m sure the regular auditors have told the Supervisor for years what needed to be done. $20,000 a year for a financial audit. That’s public and on their website. Has the Supervisor done what the auditors recommended? I’m sure he didn’t, so who is wasting taxpayer dollars? Didn’t the entire board vote on the forensic audit? Some wasteful/unlawful spending by was stopped after the first post by Edgar County Watchdogs. So you should thank them. Focus on the Supervisor, he won’t even listen to the board, so you can’t blame Benford or any of the other board members
Jbw
Posted at 10:11h, 19 JulyThen the elected people in those organizations help you get reelected so you can give them more cash, then use the money for some no bid projects built by another friend, who is the only one who can do that job. Everyone is happy but the tax payers
Trudy
Posted at 23:55h, 19 JulyGood point. Check out Mayer campaign contributions on the State Board of Elelctions website and check out all his “in kind donations” from no bid contracts he awards and so much more. Whenever he has agreed to accept bids, he opens them up before the board meeting and then all of a sudden, his “friends” have the lowest bid. It’s magical. Read the minutes from April to now, it has happened more than one since then. Most bidding processes mean the board opens all bids at the same time. Back to his campaign contributions, looks like taxpayers are paying for things and he gets “free” services at election time. How many of those organizations being supported gave those tax dollars right back to his campaign account? The organizations needed financial support and in return they gave to his campaign? Who accepts campaign contributions from organizations in need?
Cindy
Posted at 08:11h, 19 JulyThis seems to be the norm for all governance offices. Someone has not been understanding the rules for a very long time. I am not sure how we got to a place where stealing is totally acceptable. I suppose since the original idea of taxation is stealing, it would follow that this could never end well.
M Wayne
Posted at 02:41h, 19 July(60 ILCS 1/85-13) (1) allows “Ordinary and necessary maintenance and operating expenses for the following:
(D) Health.
(E) Recreation.
Wouldn’t some of the expenditures possibly fall under those categories? Having said that, I have not looked up “the federal State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972” to see how it affects things.
Changing subject, 9/9/15 & 9/21/17 Bollingbrook Flag Football donations have something redacted. Wonder what that is?
jmkraft
Posted at 06:52h, 19 JulyBut don’t forget that it must also be a “…cooperative agreement or contract…”
Dave
Posted at 22:51h, 18 JulyWow! I’m speechless….. forcing taxpayers to donate to organizations they may not want to donate to. In my opinion someone needs to go to jail for this misappropriation of funds