Buffalo Grove board reprimands trustee, passes recall ordinance

The marriage between Trustee Lisa Stone and the Buffalo Grove village board was not exactly a match made in heaven. And now it appears to be drifting even further toward divorce.

On Monday, the board passed a recall ordinance that could result in her ouster from the board.

But if that message wasn't enough, the board also reprimanded Stone for her freelance activity aimed at addressing odors some believe are associated with composting at the former Land and Lakes landfill.

The board unanimously - but for Stone's abstention - voted for a resolution that declared Stone had violated the village's code of conduct by making it appear she was representing the village when she contacted various agencies to investigate odors that may come from the former construction debris landfill. The property at 1300 Milwaukee Ave. now operates as a yard waste transfer station but has also been engaged in composting yard waste.

Any pretense of decorum that might have existed was cast to the winds after Village President Elliott Hartstein read the reprimand resolution.

Hartstein said that while no trustee is precluded from advocating on any issue, under the recently enacted code of conduct, "someone must, in fact, identify that they are doing this in their individual capacity and that they are not doing this on behalf of the village of Buffalo Grove."

Stone launched a long, rambling defense of her actions, during which she accused village officials of ignoring the concerns about the odors and which culminated in her declaring, "My oath is to the people. That's first and foremost. If I have to break the rules to do what's right, I will. I don't believe I did break the rules. Sometimes you have to forego doing what is popular - popular on this board, to do what's right."

During her monologue, Stone implied that an e-mail on the issue from Village Manager William Brimm had been altered, of which Brimm has said he was unaware. She also criticized Brimm for stating that Land and Lakes was not a composting site, when in fact it is the largest composting site in Lake County. She brought up the fact that Land and Lakes had been cited for violations by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

She read a letter from a doctor at nearby Affinity Healthcare about numerous complaints from both patients and employees about the odors.

Stone's speech sparked a negative reaction from both Hartstein and Trustee Steven Trilling. Trilling took particular issue with Stone's statement about breaking the rules, reminding her that she voted for the very code of conduct she was accused of violating.

Eventually, the meeting deteriorated into a seemingly endless exchange between Stone and Hartstein.

The fabric of decorum completely unraveled at the end, when resident Jeff Rotman delivered a blistering critique of Stone's performance on the board and vowed to circulate a petition for her recall. Stone responded by reminding the audience that Rotman's sister-in-law is Joanne Johnson, one of her opponents in last year's election.

The angry confrontation ended with Stone telling Rotman he was out of order, prompting him to yell, "You are out of order!"

Earlier in the meeting, one of Stone's proponents, Frank LaDonne, took the board to task and said Stone cares about the residents. "It is apparent that she doesn't speak for this board. She - speaks for us," he said.

LaDonne was greeted by catcalls from some in the audience.

The property containing the transfer station was annexed into the village in 2008, with the aim of redeveloping the site. Land and Lakes was to move its operation from its current location to an approximately 8-acre site across the street on Milwaukee Avenue.

But when the economy went sour, redevelopment plans were shelved, and the firm, which had discontinued composting years before, resumed composting in late 2008 on a small scale and then on a larger scale in 2009.

Rick Rubenstein, the owner of a neighboring business, told Stone about odors in late 2009. Stone then alerted the village, which contacted Land and Lakes. Neither Stone nor Rubenstein was satisfied with the response, and Stone contacted Lake County, which got the Illinois EPA involved, and Mark Kirk's office, which resulted in the U.S. EPA also getting on the case.

Stone has insisted that Land and Lakes officials went back on their word to village officials during annexation hearings when they resumed composting. She posted a YouTube video, using the name TrusteeLisaStone, with clips of public hearings on the annexation.

Trustee Beverly Sussman said Stone had clearly crossed the line by putting her name on the YouTube video.

Hartstein said that because of pending actions by environmental regulatory agencies, Land and Lakes has been advised by counsel not to make public statements.

The recall ordinance was first considered last fall, but was tabled for further work. As approved, it is a 200-day process, with residents required first to give notice, then to file petitions, which then lead to the village board adopting an ordinance putting the question on the ballot.

The petitions must be signed by not less than 33 percent of the average of the ballots cast in the last two preceding municipal elections, and not fewer than 1,000 people.