Des Plaines mayor plans to veto spending extra $10,000 on probe

Des Plaines aldermen narrowly approved spending $10,000 for polygraph tests Tuesday as part of an investigation into who leaked documents to the Daily Herald, but Mayor Matt Bogusz said he'll veto spending more tax dollars on the probe.

Aldermen voted 5-3 to pay additional money to Chicago-based firm Hillard Heintze, which the city has already paid $30,000 to conduct the internal investigation. Dissenting aldermen called using lie-detector tests on elected officials and staff members "a new low," but supporters argued the investigation is an important quest for truth and integrity.

In June, the Daily Herald obtained from a Des Plaines elected official and a staff member all or portions of an 11-page report detailing all active litigation involving the city. The documents, prepared by the city's lawyers, were marked "confidential - attorney/client privilege."

Releasing confidential information is against Des Plaines' code of ethics. Employees can be disciplined, up to dismissal, and elected officials can be censured by the council.

Bogusz chastised the city council Tuesday for agreeing to spend more money after the firm had not produced a report required in the $30,000 no-bid contract.

Bogusz said the decision underlines the poor image elected officials in neighboring communities and Springfield have of Des Plaines politics.

"I used to defend this council," Bogusz said. "I'm not going to do it anymore."

The documents included information about a workers' compensation claim filed against the city by 5th Ward Alderman Jim Brookman, a former fire department captain. Brookman, who voted for spending additional money, said the release of information was politically motivated.

"I'm disappointed we've had to spend money on this," Brookman said. "But at this point, I would do what's maybe necessary to find out what actually happened here."

In November, aldermen voted unanimously to hire Hillard Heintze to retrieve and review documents from city servers and conduct up to 10 interviews as part of the investigation after the Cook County state's attorney's office and Illinois attorney general's office would not open a probe. The additional $10,000 would pay for polygraph tests on 12 people, including elected officials and staff members.

Seventh Ward Alderman Don Smith said he'd refuse a polygraph test, calling it a new low in the city.

"If you would've told me there was time I would have to take a polygraph, I would have said you're nuts," Smith said, referring to when he was first elected 20 years ago.

Stewart Weiss, the city's legal counsel, said he has not researched whether staff members could be fired based on polygraph test results.

Aldermen Dick Sayad, John Robinson, Patti Haugeberg, Malcolm Chester and Brookman voted for the proposal. Alderman Denise Rodd, Mike Charewicz and Smith opposed it. A supermajority of six aldermen would need to vote to override a veto by Bogusz.