Check launches Chicago Executive Airport Board debate

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A signature has touched off a heated debate amongst members of the Chicago Executive Airport Board that may not be over anytime soon.

As board members reviewed a payment of bills this month, a check made out to a consultant at New Jersey-based Airport Corporation of America Inc. for $20,000 raised some eyebrows.

Airport Board Director David Kolssak said he began looking into the airport's finances after being named treasurer of the board.

"I was looking at the check register and I kept seeing a payment to Airport Corporation of America as a consultant," he said.

Kolssak, who was not familiar with the work the consultant had done, said he grew concerned when he saw that Airport Board Chairman Kevin Dohm had signed off on three of the bills.

"I found this to be a little disconcerting because the procedure outlines that all bills must be signed off on by the airport manager," Kolssak said.

The bills totaled nearly $60,000 over seven months and nearly $125,000 total over the span of a year, he said.

Kolssak said he went to Airport Manager Dennis Rouleau for answers.

"He (Rouleau) said he didn't sign them because he didn't feel comfortable signing the bills because he didn't know what they were about, and in his absence Dohm had signed them," Kolssak said.

Reached for comment Monday, Rouleau said Dohm had been authorized to sign off on bills in May and July, but not for the June bill, which he signed when Rouleau was out of town.

Dohm defended his actions and said he did not overstep any boundaries.

"For the past year we've been approving these payments as a board. Any allegations of wrongdoing are disingenuous," Dohm said.

"I was following the direction of Prospect Heights Mayor Rodney Pace and former Wheeling President Greg Klatecki, who agreed to hire the consultant about 17 months ago to work on land acquisition with the FAA near the airport in the runway protection zone," he said.

Klatecki, who resigned in April following back problems, could not be reached for comment. Pace confirmed Dohm's defense.

"There was some confusion by the airport board of what had been discussed in executive session, but we did hire the consultant to look into land acquisition near the airport in a runway protection area," Pace said.

The airport board duties and responsibilities are outlined in an intergovernmental agreement between Prospect Heights and Wheeling, which co-own the airport.

"There seems to be some confusion; that's why the two municipalities are working to schedule a meeting to discuss what's going on," Pace said.

The vagueness of that document has been blamed in the past for confusion as the airport board voted in favor of closing a runway to resolve a lawsuit. The proposal was later overturned by Wheeling and Prospect Heights, which ruled the airport board did not have the authority to take the action.

"I think we need to re-examine the IGA and better define the roles of the chairman and the rest of the board for that matter," Kolssak said.