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December 11, 2024

Hanover Township pays Homeowner’s real estate taxes, insurance, association dues, and more –

By John Kraft & Kirk Allen

On December 14, 2019

HANOVER TOWNSHIP (ECWd) –

On reviewing several of the board packets from Hanover Township, we noticed questionable expenditures from the township’s general assistance fund.  For those not familiar with General Assistance, it is Public Aid administered by the Township.

Since April of 2018 thru April of 2019, Hanover Township has used its general assistance funds for the following (see example here):

  • Home Insurance Assistance totaling $1,238.59
  • Property Tax Assistance totaling $5,122.84
  • Auto Insurance Assistance totaling $3,326.11
  • Fuel Assistance Card totaling $2,850.00
  • Homeowner’s Association Dues totaling $266.95
  • Vehicle License Plate renewal totaling $103.37

We doubt the legislature intended for the General Assistance program to pay for homeowner insurance, homeowners association dues, their real estate taxes, auto insurance, car payments, or to renew license plates.

Hanover Township Administrator James Barr responded to our questions related to these expenditures, here’s what he had to say:

  • Hanover Township provides assistance for indigent residents for shelter, in accordance with Article VI of the Public Aid Code and Section 9 of the Township Supervisors of Illinois General Assistance Handbook (adopted in accordance with the requirements of the Consent Decree entered in Rodriquez v. Township of DeKalb).  This may include payment for costs required to maintain their place of residence, such as rent, mortgage, real estate taxes, home insurance, and home association dues.  Failure to pay property taxes, home insurance premiums, and association dues can—and, unfortunately, does—result in the loss of homes.  Hanover Township provides assistance with these payments in an effort to avoid such outcomes for qualifying residents.”
  • Hanover Township provides assistance for indigent residents for transportation to enable access to employment, job searching, and medical care, in accordance with Article VI of the Public Aid Code and Sections 11 and 18 of the Township Supervisors of Illinois General Assistance Handbook.  This may include car payments, auto insurance, and renewal of vehicle license plates.  Failure to make car payments may result in repossession by lenders.  Failure to pay auto insurance or renew vehicle license plates renders the operation of a vehicle illegal.  Hanover Township provides assistance with these payments in an effort to avoid such outcomes for qualifying residents.”   

We believe this Township is reading things into the General Assistance statutes and the TOI Handbook on GA (which is not a law) that are simply not there and were never contemplated by the Legislature.

Let’s look at Article VI of the Public Aid Code, Section 6-1.

It specifically references “basic maintenance requirements” with financial aid:

  • for either (a) necessary treatment, care, and supplies required because of illness or disability, or (b) acute medical treatment, care, and supplies only.

Basic maintenance, under General Assistance, does not include housing, food, transportation, etc…

Additionally, this month alone, Hanover Township is misusing public funds by purchasing “bereavement flowers” (see pages 6 and 9), spending more on property taxes and home insurance (page 17), and auto insurance for private autos (page 18).

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4 Comments
  • annie oakley
    Posted at 08:17h, 15 December

    This link is from the Township Officials of Illinois download center:

    https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/understanding-general-assistance

    which states: “General Assistance (GA) is a program of “last resort.” This means that you can get GA only if you can’t get any other form of public benefits. GA programs must help people meet their basic living requirements. To qualify for GA, you must have very little income and assets.”

    This is the link to the application for GA which includes the very detailed assets information request:

    https://www.toi.org/Resources/C077E2E9-9D67-41E1-88EC-B7DCA6510CB0/GA%20application.pdf

  • A. Lincoln
    Posted at 04:38h, 15 December

    No requirement that recipient “…must have voted in a Democratic primary election?”

  • Watching Townships
    Posted at 00:14h, 15 December

    GA needs to be dissolved by the state legislature. Why? Cause there is way too much potential for corruption just like this. In talking to my state Rep. I was told that the new food pantry option that was written in to the statue and is effective in January 2020 scares me even more. His excuse was that there is a lot of food insecurity in our state. My response “Really?” How do you get food insecurity and then deem us to have an over obese population at the same time? So what is it….are we obese or starving? I’m thinking you can’t have both but if guess if talk out of both she does of your mouth and you struggle with logic then maybe you can

    • W
      Posted at 15:14h, 15 December

      It is not about having enough food. It is about people not being able to afford to eat. So is it that we need to limit how much food people are allowed to eat?
      I have no problem with my taxes to buy food for a food pantry.

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