Avon Twp Supervisor Terry Wilke gave away Step Van without Board approval –

Avon Township, IL. (ECWd) –

This make the third vehicle Avon Township Supervisor Terry Wilke has purchased and transferred out of Township ownership without the required Township Board’s approval. There was a Chevy Suburban (sold), a Nissan Leaf that he put into his personal name, and now this Step Van (transferred to Avon Cares).

Here is the timeline of this vehicle, which was obtained thru various FOIA requests – Document packet HERE with numbered documents related to those listed below)

1. Purchased and paid for by Terry Wilke on 6/29/17. The title was issued to Avon Township. On 5/13/19, municipal plates were purchased by Avon Township. Document Packet 1 contains the evidence. In this document, all evidence packets will be referred to as Doc with a number. (Doc #1)
2. Board informed of purchase on 7 /10/17 (Doc #2)
3. A notarized document on 8/23/17of intent and responsibility for repairs, insurance, title, and maintenance was signed by Terry Wilke. There is no evidence for any discussion, vote, or knowledge of said document for the entire year of 2017, 2018, 2019 to the present. The first time the board heard about a contract is at the July 21, 2020 meeting. It was emailed to the trustee on 7 /22/20. Further, there is no evidence of any payment mentioned in the document. (Doc #3)
4. The Avon Township accountant collected and informed the Board of all expenses for the Step Van and the latest insurance bill/policy verifies payment of all gas, repairs, and insurance. Doc #4)
5. Transfer of title of Step Van to the Avon Cares Food Pantry search revealed no vote or discussion on transferring the title from October 2019 through July 2020. On 6/16/20, Supervisor Wilke mentioned he bought the Step Van for the Food Pantry. It was a regular practice to include picking up food for the pantry in the Superintendent Reports. The title and all expenses for the Step Van were in the Avon Township name from the date purchase through July. There is no agreement with Avon Cares on the use or payment in the meeting minutes or documents. The Board did know that the Step Van was used to pick up food for the Food Pantry but there is no evidence that they did not believe the Township owned it. There are numerous times the Step Van is referred to as owned by the Township included are minutes with that sentiment stated by Terry Wilke on 11/19/18. At the 7 /7 /20 meeting the Supervisor informed the board that the title of the Step Van was transferred to the Avon Cares Food Pantry. There is also a discussion on the transfer of title and his ownership of the Step Van on 7 /21/20. A title change was discovered on July 9, 2020, through a google search by a community member as a result of statements made by Supervisor Wilke at the July 7, 2020 meeting. This search was sent to Trustee Bauman. Clerk Kearby, responded to questions from the Trustee and statements made at the 7 /21/20 meeting by calling the DMV. It was reported by the DMV that the paperwork had a sale date of July 1, 2020. Title changes are only allowed on or after the sale date. They do not transfer any titles unless a sale date is noted in the documents. (Doc #5)

Supervisor Terry Wilke referred to the Step Van as Township property it is noted in the Supervisor’s Report at the 7 /10/17 meeting and in the minutes on 11/19/18 meeting. It was general knowledge that the Step Van was owned by the Township because it was titled, insured, repaired and licensed under Avon Township. None of the expenses associated with the Step Van were preapproved by the Board. In addition, there was never a discussion on what repairs were needed or the condition of the Step Van at purchase.

The “contract” signed and notarized on August 23, 2017, was first heard of at the July 21, 2020 board meeting. Trustee Bauman even questioned, what contract. It was emailed to the Board members by Terry Wilke on July 22, 2020. There are no signatures of Board members on the document, no motion to approve the document in any of the meetings from 2017 to the present, no acceptance or discussion of said contract. Furthermore, there is no documentation of any payment of a $1.00 lease from Avon Township as noted in the contract.

There is no motion or discussion or mention of changing the Step Van title over to the Avon Cares Food Pantry. Even with the statements from the Township Attorney that property has to transferred by the electors. Clearly, the Step Van title was changed after July 1, 2020.

In short, this is simply another instance of Supervisor Terre Wilke transferring Township property out of the Township’s name in violation of the Township Code.