Des Plaines mayor's veto of polygraph spending stands

Des Plaines aldermen on Tuesday night quietly allowed Mayor Matt Bogusz's veto of spending $10,000 on polygraph tests in a leak probe to stand.

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.

In January, the council voted 5-3 to pay the additional money to Chicago-based firm Hillard Heintz, which the city has already paid $30,000 for the probe, but Bogusz vetoed the measure earlier this month.

The city council did not put an override, which would have required the support of six aldermen, to a vote on Tuesday night.

Bogusz has decried spending money on polygraph tests, arguing Hillard Heintze has yet to produce a report from the firm's investigation.

"I think that the council is realizing that their behavior is reflecting poorly on them," Bogusz said. "That's why they didn't call for an override."

First Ward Alderman Patti Haugeberg, who's led the investigation, did not provide an update on findings from the probe. Haugeberg could not be reached for comment after the meeting Tuesday.

The quiet proceedings Tuesday contrasted with the previous council meeting, when Bogusz vetoed the spending. At that meeting, residents and aldermen offered to pay for the continued investigation with their own money.