Some residents weary of Campton squabbles
Some Campton Hills residents are growing weary of infighting on the village board and the costs of lawyers associated with the disagreements.
“The fighting — you make the Congress look good,” resident Chuck Johnson told the board last week at a meeting in which trustees voted to override President Patsy Smith's veto of extending Police Chief Dan Hoffman's contract through May.
Resident John Pree predicted it could cost the village $200,000 to $300,000 if a court battle ensues over Hoffman's contract status.
Pree also lamented the cost of last Tuesday's meeting to taxpayers. The village paid for a court reporter, village attorney William Braithwaite, and an attorney from Angel and Glink, a legislative legal firm hired by the board.
“You need to compromise this out,” Pree said.
It was far from a compromise as trustees voted to override Smith's veto — a move that, according to Smith, has occurred 15 times since last August.
The board also recently overrode Smith's November decision to put Village Administrator Jennifer Johnsen on paid leave. Smith cited performance issues and the need to give the Illinois attorney general's office time to investigate a possible Open Meetings Act Violation.
Last month, Smith proposed allowing Hoffman's contract to expire Dec. 27, 2014, and sought to appoint Campton Hills Police Sgt. Bob Reichardt as chief.
A majority of the board instead voted to extend Hoffman's contract through May.
This past Tuesday, Trustees Harry Blecker, Laura Anderson, Susan George and Al Lenkaitis — who Smith wants off the board because she said he's moved out of the village — voted to override Smith's veto.
Trustee Jim Kopec was the only vote in favor of upholding the veto; Trustee Mike Millette abstained.
Strain between Smith and other trustees has intensified in recent weeks.
The village's electoral board recently upheld the candidate petitions for Blecker, who is running for village president, and Anderson, George and Michael O'Dwyer, who are all seeking trustee terms.
Smith, who unsuccessfully challenged their petitions on grounds they were filed too early, said she would decide by Monday whether to appeal the decision to keep the quartet on the April ballot.
Smith also has not decided if she is going to run for a third, 4-year term for president as a write-in candidate. Smith, who was the driving force to form the village in 2007, did not file nominating petitions last month to run for president.
The village board next meets at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Campton Township Community Center, 5N082 Old La Fox Road.
Last week's vote on Hoffman's contract came after Braithwaite offered one opinion and the legislative attorney offered another. It was emblematic of the schism.
“It is our opinion the term of office having expired, it is incumbent of the village president to make an appointment” of either Hoffman or someone else, Braithwaite said.
Legislative attorney Julie Tappendorf said removing Hoffman was not a lawful action.
“The current chief is still in office because he has not been properly removed,” Tappendorf said.
Blecker said it's now Smith's move.
“If she wants to spend the time and money to take it to court, that's up to her,” he said.
• Daily Herald staff writer Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this story.