Shelby County Chairman Bruce Cannon violates Counties Code, holds illegal meeting

Shelby Co. (ECWd) –

Shelby County Chairman Bruce Cannon has once again ignored state law.  Last week the Shelby County Board held a special meeting at the request of Chairman Bruce Cannon.  With 14 years on the County Board, you would think he would have learned at least a portion of the Counties Code, however, that does not appear to be the case.

The only provision in the law for a County Chairman to call a special meeting is when that position is elected at large, which is not the case in Shelby County.  It was the County Board who elected Cannon to be the Chairman, and several officials are regretting that move.  Not only was there no one-third of the members requesting the meeting, but there was also no request in writing, another requirement pertaining to the county board holding a special meeting.

(55 ILCS 5/2-1002)
    Sec. 2-1002. Special meetings. Special meetings of the board shall be held only when requested by at least one-third of the members of the board, or when requested by the chairman of the board in counties where such chairman is elected by the voters of the county, which request shall be in writing, addressed to the clerk of the board, and specifying the time and place of such meeting, upon reception of which the clerk shall immediately transmit notice, in writing, of such meeting, to each of the members of the board. The clerk shall also cause notice of such meeting to be published in some newspaper printed in the county if any there be. In case a vacancy arises in the office of clerk, because of death or other reason, then the request shall be addressed to the circuit clerk who shall perform the duties of the clerk pursuant to this Section.
(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

The County Board is holding their regular meeting Wednesday of this week, June 10, 2020, at 9 am at the Lions Club building in Forest Park.  Reviewing the agenda it appears Cannon is playing with fire.  Item #10 on the agenda is Chairman’s item – “Discussion regarding removing the HR/Personnel Director position currently held by the Shelby County Treasurer’s office”.

Why would such an item be playing with fire?  It has been the treasurer who has exposed the payroll fraud in the county and also the one providing key financial documents to our FOIA requests proving Cannon was compensated for meetings that either were never held or did not qualify for compensation.  The Treasurer is also the one pushing for compliance with the law and was met with resistance for over a year.  In light of Cannon’s confirmation of a criminal investigation taking place at the Sheriff’s office regarding payroll, it appears he is attempting to minimize the damage by retaliating against a whistleblower and taking payroll matters out of her hands.  He would be well advised to understand the Illinois Whistleblower Act.

A copy of the Agenda can be downloaded at this link or viewed below.

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