Carpentersville trustees argue about lawyers
Carpentersville village officials spent more than $20,000 between May 2005 and January of this year on legal costs brought about by contentious in-house issues.
In an eight-page memorandum, Village Manager Craig Anderson isolated legal fees attributable to items like the proposed illegal immigration ordinance, possible violations of the open-meetings act and the proposed removal of a trustee.
Attorney James Rhodes and his Chicago-based firm of Klein Thorpe and Jenkins spent almost 135 hours at a cost of $20,407.50 to meet with village officials, prepare board memorandums and research ordinances.
"There were reasons to ask the attorney questions related to the issues," said Anderson, who stressed that the bill is not isolated to one village official.
"There are some things in there about the immigration issue where I asked the village attorney for information," Anderson said.
Trustee Judy Sigwalt said she asked for an estimated legal price tag last month after Village President Bill Sarto sought to remove Trustee Paul Humpfer.
After a Kane County judge found Humpfer guilty on four counts of domestic battery, Sarto sent letters to the Kane County state's attorney and the Illinois attorney general asking both to step in and depose Humpfer, who is awaiting sentencing.
"He has been spending money on the quest to remove Paul Humpfer without the board's knowledge," Sigwalt said. "He needs to pay it back because there was never board approval and we had no idea he was doing it."
During Tuesday's village board meeting Sarto, who did not return repeated calls for comment Wednesday, defended his actions.
"My requests are trying to protect the village against lawsuits," said Sarto, whose resolution to remove Humpfer from the board failed Tuesday night.
"All of it has been (precipitated) by things they have introduced, by their actions," Sarto said.
Sarto said he asked for legal opinions on items such as the illegal-immigration ordinance Humpfer and Sigwalt proposed in October 2006, the legality of a public forum on illegal immigration, and whether an audit and finance commission meeting to discuss the purchase of Tamarac Crossing violated the state's open-meetings act.
"That list is full with the two trustees' actions and things they have done," Sarto said Tuesday. "The reason I have done the things that I have is to stand up for the community."
But Sigwalt argued Sarto does not pull the purse strings of the village.
"Just because he is village president doesn't mean he can just break open the piggy bank," Sigwalt said. "He didn't have the permission of the board to spend the taxpayers' money."