Media not digging into council dealings

Bruce Trego's letter to the Daily Herald Oct. 4 is right on target. The coverage in the Daily Herald on this story since it was first reported by the Courier has been woefully inadequate. Even the Courier let Mike Powers off with a light dismissal when further scrutiny is needed. Could the behavior of Mr. Powers in this obvious conflict of interest and abuse of elected office be only the tip of the iceberg at Elgin City Hall?

I draw this possible conclusion from several experiences that I've had over many years including four years on the city council. First, when I met Powers in the spring of 2007 as he was running for council he came to my home to ask for my vote. When I told him that many citizens where outraged at the millions of dollars being thrown at developers to build in Elgin, he told me he supported the policy because he was an ally of Mayor Schock. Since Mr. Schock was elected as mayor in 1999 by a mere 300 or so votes, there's been no real opposition to his policies by members of the city council.

As with many scandals that have hit the city of Elgin from the NHS embezzlement in the early 2000s, to the drug ring at God's Gym (a city supported facility), to the Powers conflict of interest, the local media has been unwilling to investigate fully the actions of city government that led to these events.

As for a lack of transparency and private phone conversations to develop consensus away from the public's eyes, as Trego's letter suggests, that's also been part of the Schock strategy of governance since the mid-90s, when the council at that time hired a city manager by phone calls among five fellow members. That was a proven fact admitted to by Mr. Schock and his cohorts, a clear violation of the "sunshine laws" prohibiting such actions. I know that it happened because I was one of two members of that council that were left out of the phone calls, and it was discussed openly at a public meeting where final action was taken.

As for the lack of the local media holding elected officials in Elgin accountable, I believe a large part of that has to do with that same media always endorsing the people on the city council. As for Mr. Bailey, he's always supported Mayor Schock and Councilman Gilliam, God's Gym and many other bad policies. With his mighty pen, Mr. Bailey has attacked anyone and everyone who opposes the one party form of government in Elgin, the Schock party!

Terry L. Gavin

Elgin City Council

1995-1999